


our reflections as seen (when the water stills)

by chatonnerie



Category: Tokyo Ghoul, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Tokyo Ghoul, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Because I have apparently sold my soul to crossovers, Biting, Blood, Body Horror, Canon-Typical Violence, Gore, M/M, TW:, This is a ghoul au, WangXian, Wei Wuxian's inability to Shut Up, and the horny, both the gory, but everyone is also in university, so dumb energy is peak, tags may increase as plot demands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 04:27:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 121,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21570799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chatonnerie/pseuds/chatonnerie
Summary: Lan Wangji was dreadfully concerned when he learnt his best friend's brother was a ghoul.Jiang Cheng really wished his brother's new stalker wasn't a dove.Wei Wuxian was just happy his friends and family seemed to care so much about him.No wonder it took them all so long to figure out what Qishan Wen were up too.
Relationships: Jiāng Yànlí/Jīn Zǐxuān, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Comments: 542
Kudos: 1746
Collections: TWT FIC REC CHAT





	1. In this shaken, twisted world

**Author's Note:**

> Time for a Tokyo Ghoul AU!  
> My exams are done, my future is free so devoting more of my life to these dumbasses it is!  
> Have linked some info about ghouls down the bottom for those who haven't seen Tokyo Ghoul, but I hope I keep it pretty clear.
> 
> I haven't added too many warnings yet, but this is a TG au, so expect some degree of severe bodily harm to occur amidst the shenanigans
> 
> original title (for once)
> 
> enjoy!

It was Him.

Lan Wangji froze for a single moment as he walked into his first lecture of third year, only to find the University of Gusu’s literal Embodiment Of Chaos relaxing in the first row of seats, chatting to all the surrounding music students like they’d been friends for years. He was unmistakeable, bundled up in the black and red trimmed hoodie that he never went without (and which appeared to have been washed to threads), a small tuft of black hair tied back in a loose man bun, three piercings on each ear and septum ring in his nose, with black painted nails and way too tightly fitted, tastefully ripped jeans. It was definitely him. Lan Wangji’s next instinct was to check he had come to the right place, and he was astonished to discover that no, he had not walked into the wrong lecture theatre.

At the sound of the distinct laugh, Lan Wangji felt his nose flare, and he turned and robotically made his way to the back of the class.

He knew who Wei Wuxian was, but none of that knowledge was personal. Wei Wuxian was one of Nie Huaisang’s expansive number of friends, and the only one consistently with him whenever Director Nie discovered his younger brother had skipped work and sent Lan Wangji out to retrieve him. He was the one who removed all the door knobs in the men’s bathroom in first year, the one charged by actual police for breaking into abandoned building sites to ‘ghost hunt’, and the one who mowed a graphic and unnecessarily detailed image of male genitalia into the east lawn over the winter break. He was the suspected mastermind behind the hacking incident in second year, when all of the emails from the Head of Science’s computer were auto signed for the next week as ‘your uwu boo’, and on the day of the Mistletoe Monstrosity, Lan Wangji had personally seen the man splitting his sides from laughter as each student on campus just stared dully around, realising every single doorway had the accused sprig atop it.

So no, he had never ever taken it upon himself to talk to Wei Wuxian, but the mere sight of the man had Lan Wangji immediately contemplating switching out of this elective. But no, _no_ , he had been looking forward to this. His career pathway had been decided from the moment he was born a Lan, but the family had always held true that devoting oneself wholly to the CCG was only an invitation for tragedy - good Investigators had hobbies, passions and commitments outside of work, and university was a highly encouraged means of exploring such. Lan Wangji had never taken much interest in anything outside of his training and music, and with one of those interests taken care of through his career, a major in music it had been. This third-year elective was one he’d been looking forward to since he’d first planned out his three year degree.

So, what on earth was Wei Wuxian, the man nearly everyone agreed was on track to become the Valedictorian for the Bachelor of _Science,_ doing in his lecture theatre? Was he just crashing it?

He didn’t have long enough to ruminate, as the lecturer walked in and immediately dimmed the lights. He liked this lecturer. He always started on time, perfectly balanced the words on his slides and the ones coming from his mouth and had met with Lan Wangji many times to offer advice on assignments in the previous subjects he’d had with him. Wei Wuxian’s laughter was the last sound to fade as the lecturer checked the mic was recording and promptly launched into the lecture.

A scant few minutes were spent introducing the subject guide and assignment weightings and tutorials, as he assumed correctly that all the third years watching him were more than used to the system and cared far more about the dates than any of the rest. After the overview, he moved straight onto content, opening with the historical studies into music’s usage when treating mental illness.

For thirty minutes, Lan Wangji dutifully took notes, focused and tuned out from the man sitting with his legs up on his small foldout desk, yawning periodically.

And then he couldn’t.

“-pioneered the treatment of music therapy in regard to schizophrenic patients, after observing that it promoted calmer neutral states, and was a way of expressing . . . Yes?”

The Embodiment of Chaos beamed, dropping his hand and sitting up importantly.

“So what about ghouls?”

The lecture hall went silent.

The lecturer blinked at him. Lan Wangji just scowled.

“Please explain, I’m not quite sure what your question is,” The lecturer frowned, and Wei Wuxian beamed brightly.

“Yeah, okay. So, considering that ghouls have nineteen to twenty-one times the amount of auditory nerves as humans, has anyone checked if music that has calming effects on humans also affects ghouls similarly? It is more effective? Less? Surely there’s something.”

“Surprisingly, Wei Wuxian, no one’s ever managed to ask,” the lecturer responded dryly, “why do you want to know?”

Wei Wuxian settled himself down to tell a story and Lan Wangji felt his temper spike, “Well, if I’m running for my life from a man-eating denizen of hell, and I play some music to calm myself, is that going to just agitate them? Give them a power up? Shock them like some kind of dog whistle style weapon? The answer could _save_ my _life_.”

Nearly the whole lecture theatre was outright laughing by that point, as the lecturer just stared, baffled. Wei Wuxian was reclining in his seat, legs folded, arms behind his head, looking inordinately pleased with himself.

If it was just that, Lan Wangji might have just been annoyed.

But whispers were already filling the lecture theatre, the bright minds of the future all too eager to discuss the horrors that lurked in the shadows of their society. Some were neutral on the matter. Some believed firmer action should be taken. Some people were still thoroughly unconvinced ghouls were even real, never mind the evidence. Lan Wangji had almost completely lost faith in humanity the first time he read a large assertation that it was all a big government story to justify the CCG and all their security measures.

(He spitefully wondered if the people who labelled the CCG as an inhumane show of government force had ever had the pleasure of coming upon a feasting ghoul and the waves of misery it left in its wake)

Now legitimately irritated, Lan Wangji raised his hand.

“Yes?” the lecturer called, grateful. Wei Wuxian flipped his head back and Lan Wangji made sure he was scowling at those silver eyes as he stood up.

(He could have sworn Wei Wuxian’s shoulders twitched slightly, smug grin a bit frozen)

“Ghouls operate on a direct stimulus to action neural circuit.” He recited, silencing the theatre room, “They cannot process music nor other such higher brain function whilst hunting.”

“Yeesh,” Wei Wuxian didn’t wait for the lecturer, grin returning in full force, “Lan Er-Gonzi is so unimaginative. I was just curious.”

“Your question is pointless.”

“Yeah, well, if we question nothing, then we’ll never learn anything.”

“Question the ghoul. If you haven’t been eaten.” He shot down coldly, sitting back down properly (unlike some people) and a few goading ‘ooohs’ echoed through the uni students, a couple good-naturedly jostling Wei Wuxian up front. He laughed and pushed them off, radiating ease and satisfaction.

They all just avoided Lan Wangji’s eyes.

The lecturer just cleared his throat. “Well. Might we return to the material you’ll be tested on?”

Everyone universally straightened and somehow, the lecture managed to reach its conclusion, save for a couple of slides they’d have to go over in their own time because of _somebody’s_ disruption.

Lan Wangji carefully packed away his laptop, textbook and pens, as the others cleared out in a hoard.

Wei Wuxian was hovering directly in the doorway, chatting to a veritable cloud of students.

“You already got kicked out of a practical?”

“Wei-xiong, what the fuck?”

“That’s your third one this year?”

“Can’t help it,” Wei Wuxian basked in the attention, hands lax behind his head, “I hate that tutor. It’s a simple matter to piss him off until he files a complaint and I get a free practical swap~ hehe.”

“You’re gonna get suspended again.”

“So what?” Wei Wuxian shrugged, “I’m in fourth year. If I can’t trade my good marks for an actually decent tutor by now, then what’s the point? I’m not putting up with another asshole who spends all our meetings remarking about how ‘boys shouldn’t wear earrings’ instead of my actual feedback. Besides, as long as I push the right buttons, it’s easy to get what I want~.”

He was blocking the doorway. In a brief break of composure, Lan Wangji just shouldered his bag higher and roughly shoved past, knocking the irritant aside and marching off.

He could still hear them as he left.

“-pissed off Lan Wangji?”

“I’ve never seen him hate _anyone_ as fast as he hated you.”

Wei Wuxian’s scoff carried.

“Who cares? I’m probably the most interesting thing in that fuddy-duddy’s life.”

Well, sometimes the gossip at university could be considered intelligent. For if there was one thing Lan Wangji knew, had always known but been cemented during this lecture, it was that there was no human alive that he couldn’t abide more than Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian’s contribution to his first lecture had been disruptive, radical and ever so slightly infuriating because Lan Wangji _knew_ he’d interrupted for no other reason than to interrupt.

Wei Wuxian came to the second lecture. And the third.

Prolonged experience revealed that he did not get any better.

The subject had two lecturers, and neither of them had any clue what to do with his questions, intruding on the carefully planned subject material, no control over how one hand could be raised, and the attention of every audience member immediately redirected towards it. Even Lan Wangji found his eyes flicking down whenever that hand shot up and he felt some ball of irritation grow each time he realised such a fact.

At the end of the third lecture, he was petty enough to knock his way past the Embodiment of Chaos with enough force that the other dropped the huge thermos of coffee he seemed to carry everywhere. In a righteous fit of rudeness he didn’t think he’d ever done before, he didn’t apologise.

The following week, he focused on the lecturers, brutally determined to ignore the Embodiment of Chaos relaxing in the front row.

Fortunately, Wei Wuxian, who would probably be a genius if he didn’t dedicate his considerable intelligence to his own amusement, had immediately figured out that Lan Wangji was now resolved not to acknowledge him.

Unfortunately, his lecture intrusions now seemed to serve a double purpose of both being disruptive for disruption’s sake _and_ deliberately needling at Lan Wangji to get him to stand up and angrily shut down the talk.

The questions from out of left field he could shut out easily.

The snide comments about the clinical validity of various trials could be ignored if he grit his teeth.

But the questions about ghouls? _Those_ pulled at his ire.

(And Wei Wuxian fucking figured it out)

He’d never met a human more determined to compare humans to ghouls. Some of the facts Wei Wuxian pulled out of nowhere were so obtuse Lan Wangji doubted even members of the CCG below B-Rank would know. And each and every time, he’d recline back, flashing a wide, taunting smile Lan Wangji’s way.

However, it only became a problem in the second week of semester, on Wednesday afternoon, at precisely 2.10pm, when he walked into the Music Hall, and pushed open the door to his tutorial.

As usual, his entry prompted a silence in the room, his presence enough to quieten even university aged students, most all freezing and watching him carefully, a few slightly too visibly displeased to be sharing a tutorial with him again. Normally, that alone would worsen his mood, but right in the middle of them . . .

“Wangj-xiong! Wangji-xiong!” Wei Wuxian waved cheerfully, perched haphazardly atop one of the tables, “Hey hey! You in this tute as well? What are the odds huh, haha!”

Lan Wangji ignored him, cold fury on his face as he found the most private corner and pretended he wasn’t sulking in it. Wei Wuxian snickered as he passed, a couple people patting his shoulders in sympathy for earning the noble man’s ire.

“He’s going to kill you, Wei-xiong,” someone muttered, and the Embodiment of Chaos just laughed louder. He _did_ get off the table when the tutor walked in, but as they quickly did the names-to-faces greeting for the tutor’s sake, the words that came out of his mouth snuffed any goodwill Lan Wangji might have spared.

“This one is Wei Wuxian, Scorpio!” he announced cheerfully, upon the callout of his name, “I’m a Science fourth-year! I’m taking this subject as a broadening elective!”

Not crashing. Not chatting. Not deliberately interfering in Lan Wangji’s peaceful university life.

Wei Wuxian was taking the same subject as he was. For the whole fucking semester.

“You have a subject with Wei-xiong?”

Nie Huaisang, tech manager of the CCG’s HQ, chronic slacker and resident gossip spreader, sent him a look of absolute pity, safely reclining behind his desk.

“Oof. That’s rough. Good luck, Lan-xiong.”

“He talks.”

“Oh yeah, there’s a whole WeChat that the STEM students made to try and puzzle together which subjects he’s taking each semester - some want to get in to hear the train wreck, some want to avoid it because they hate having to always read up on the remaining lecture content that they never get too. I think he found out about it, like, a year ago and hacked in to give them the answers the day after subject-change closes.”

Lan Wangji resisted the urge to groan aloud. Instead he just placed his ID on the desk, moving aside as a whole unit of investigators came through, coats torn and bloodied. Nie Huaisang followed his gaze and winced.

“Oh lovely. Just what I needed after lunch.”

Lan Wangji turned to him and moved a finger pointedly towards the clock reading ‘1612’. Nie Huaisang shrunk away from his gaze, quickly playing with his files.

“S-s-so did you hear?” he quickly changed the topic, “There have been more reported missing persons.”

Lan Wangji paused, turning serious. “How many?”

“Twenty. In two days.”

He frowned.

(Nie Huaisang squeaked)

“And?”

“I know that a whole lot have been reported near the Qishan Ward.” Nie Huaisang’s gaze slid to where the injured investigators had gone off. “So, a lot of the units are getting harassed by the Wen Clan. Apparently, we’re getting too arrogant.”

Lan Wangji scoffed at such an idea, retrieved his briefcase from over the desk, dipped his head and immediately climbed the stairs to his brother’s office.

Lan Xichen, Vice-Director of the CCG, and Special Class Investigator, hadn’t been home for more than about two hours in the last week. He looked refined as ever, hair immaculate, face serene and work pace attentive and concise. As he stepped into the room though, Lan Wangji could see the stress beginning to take effect.

“Brother,” he greeted, and Lan Xichen startled slightly, a sign in of itself, glancing up and relaxing.

“Wangji. What brings you here?”

Lan Wangji walked over, placing a small box on the desk, “Dinner.”

“Oh. Thank you,” a bit of tension loosened from his brother’s shoulders, as he reached forward to inspect what Lan Wangji had brought, “I wasn’t planning to be home tonight. I completely forgot about dinner.”

“Mm.” Lan Wangji had guessed that last bit, but simply looked down, at the sea of missing person files strewn across his brother’s desk, “any progress?”

“Not one bit,” Lan Xichen sat back, forehead creasing, “We’re even being made to cooperate with the regular authorities - the government is concerned this is some sort of human trafficking. It’s too clean for us to convince them it’s ghouls.”

“A nest?”

“Most likely,” Lan Xichen drummed his fingers against the desk, “but _where_? How can there be no remains? Ghouls eat humans, but they don’t eat everything.”

“Another reason?”

“What other reason?” Lan Xichen shrugged helplessly, “I’ve seen the terrible things ghouls inflict upon humans they take alive but those have only ever been just one or two humans per case. Nothing this wide scale.”

“It could be one of the Clans.”

Lan Xichen paused, and his eyes lifted up to meet Lan Wangji’s gold ones.

“. . . You know how unlikely that is.”

He nodded, “Everything else is more so.”

Lan Xichen just sighed.

“I’ll try and set up extra eyes watching them - but if I push too hard, then they’ll push back. I’m not jaded enough yet to so blithely send investigators to their deaths.”

“The Director?”

“Da-ge thinks we’re dealing with an underground group,” Lan Xichen sorted through some of the profiles, dividing them up by Ward, “potentially, rogue ghouls and humans working together.”

Ghouls _and_ humans. _Together_?

He scoffed.

“Unlikely.”

“No more so than your theory.” Lan Xichen pointed out, a small amount of teasing coming out and Lan Wangji huffed. “In the meantime, the strain on the rest of you will probably just increase. We just don’t have enough Special Class investigators to monitor all cases with plenty of time _and_ deal with this before the government sends regular police after ghouls.”

“We can handle it.”

“I’m not saying you can’t,” Lan Xichen pressed his finger against his temple, “but it’s going to start straining the others. And the more strained we are, the easier targets we become.”

“Pull in others.”

“That leaves the outer Wards virtually defenceless though.” Lan Xichen absently sorted some of them, glancing up, “Be careful on your patrol. If you see any suspicious activity bring it straight to me.”

“Understood.” He straightened up, and formally saluted, “I will take my leave then.”

“Be careful, Wangji. Although we haven’t gotten much, we at least know they’re targeting people your age.”

Lan Wangji was still turning the matter over in his head the next day, as he climbed to the third level of the Tavern, right in the heart of the University of Gusu, and put his books down at the last empty table he could find. Distracting himself with his work helped for a bit, blocking out his work brain for his student one. Unfortunately, he was barely twenty minutes into his online readings when a pile of textbooks thudded beside him.

“Hey there! All the other tables are full, and you looked so lonesome all tucked away here!” Wei Wuxian appeared to have changed his usual hairstyle, ditching his bun for a small ponytail, tied off with a glittering red scrunchie. The earrings were the same, though he’d replaced his pretty simple septum ring with an elaborate beaded piece that bounced against his upper lip with each movement. Lan Wangji sighed internally and resolved that, just maybe, if he ignored him, he would go away.

To the Embodiment of Chaos’ credit, he did study for a sum total of ten minutes, even if he did insist on tapping away mechanically on any surface his fingers found purchase on. He read through an entire chapter comprised of five syllabic long compounds that made Lan Wangji’s brain hurt, before his gaze flicked up.

Lan Wangji stayed focused on his own work, even if he could feel those eyes blazing into him.

He’d wager good money the other was grinning if gambling wasn’t forbidden.

“Lan Er-Gonzi?”

Lan Wangji ignored him.

“Eh, you’re really just gonna sit there, huh, Lan Er-Gonzi? Wangji-xiong? Wangji? Lan Wangji?” He walked those ever-moving fingers across the table, slowly drawing closer to his laptop, “Oh I know! Lan Er-gege, haha! . . . Lan Zhan?”

Lan Wangji reached out and caught them just before they ran across his keyboard, eyes flicking up and face pinched with his irritation.

“Annoying.”

“Ah!” Instead of being chastised, Wei Wuxian assumed an overly surprised expression, “So Lan Zhan only responds when I use his birth name?”

His expression curled coquettishly, mockery in his eyes, “Lan Zhan~ Not being open about such desires~ You’re being awfully insincere-ah!”

He snatched himself back with impressive speed, avoiding the hard pinch Lan Wangji had been intending on inflicting upon his hand.

His grin was still in place, completely unbroken.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan,” he tried not to grimace at the repeated usage of his birth name, “if you wanted to be friends, why didn’t you just ask? Ah! I know!”

His head lolled completely to the side, grin lopsided, “You can call this one Wei Ying!”

His blood raced, and he tried to embody his eternally patient brother as much as he could.

Wei Wuxian still managed to remain right in his face.

“Come on Lan Zhan~ Stop pretending to ignore me~”

“Ridiculous!” he snapped, shutting his laptop and swiping it roughly into his backpack. He stomped off, to the sound of Wei Wuxian’s uproarious laughter, and feeling the eyes of the entire floor, all pitying Wei Wuxian’s latest target.

(He managed to grit his teeth through a third week, of smug smiles and interrupted lectures, of inane chatter during the tutorial and silver eyes glittering tauntingly at him the whole time, a grin growing wider as his temper grew shorter.

Somehow.

 _Somehow_.)

“Have you taken a subject with Wei Wuxian?”

Nie Huaisang almost fell off his chair with a scream as Lan Wangji appeared at his desk, eyes burning.

“W-What?”

“Have you taken a subject with Wei Wuxian?”

“. . . Yes?”

“When does he stop?”

“Huh? Oh! Well, in second year, we both took a, um, _business_ broadening unit and I started bribing him to shut up in the lectures closest to exams. He accepts rock vinyls, wine and spicy takeout.”

“What business course?” They both jumped as Director Nie marched over towards them, file in hand. “You took wine tasting.”

“Hey, it was _Wine as an Industry_ , there was business involved. Just. Also wine tasting.”

Nie Huaisang ducked away from his brother’s gaze, turning instead to Lan Wangji’s ID, checking it with far more intent considering it was nothing more than formality, quickly cueing in a request for _Bichen_ to be brought out front.

“Director,” Lan Wangji turned instead to his boss, bowing and Nie Mingjue returned it lightly.

“I’m actually here for you, Wangji. I know you are already working with a lot, but I was wondering if you could take up the Footman case. We’ve had a sharp increase in correlating deaths, and it’s been boosted to A-Rank.”

“Yes, sir.” He took the extended file and quickly flicked through it, resolving to do so in greater depth in his own office. “Has there been any leads into the disappearing persons?”

Director Nie shook his head, “None so far. What’s worse, it’s finally spread into the Lanling and Qishan wards.”

Ah.

“The government isn’t forcing the Clans to comply?”

“Not if we can’t find at least one body,” the Director sighed, “watch your brother, all right? He’s begun devoting an unhealthy number of hours into this.”

Lan Wangji nodded.

A briefcase dropped against the desk, pointedly.

“Could you guys discuss this elsewhere?” Nie Huaisang whined, removing the security tag and pushing the case towards Lan Wangji, “You’re grossing out my whole space.”

His brother turned to him, glowering.

Lan Wangji took _Bichen_ and left the brothers arguing. After a quick message to his Uncle to check when the archives would be empty, he headed to his office, pulled apart the file and began to go through each step, piece by piece.

Seven confirmed victims, and one almost victim, all within three months. Considering a ghoul only needed to eat one every two months, it was truly an indecent amount of killing in such a short amount of time.

The eighth almost-victim had been spared when the B-rank investigation team had intervened. Despite this, the ghoul still escaped and two of the squad were injured, one badly enough to be hospitalised.

The ghoul had a _kokaku_ , and a penchant for leaving behind just the feet of his victims, hence the name.

The scene photos were bloody but nothing new to Lan Wangji. What was far more concerning was the sudden aggressiveness of the ghoul. Ghouls were creatures of habit, predators who relied on experience rather than improvisation - the only reason one would suddenly increase its aggression like this was if it felt it had been backed into a corner.

His phone buzzed and he checked it in case of a message from his Uncle.

**[unknown number]:**

_LAN ZHAN! LAN ZHAN! This one is REALLY sorry!!!!!_

_My brother pointed out I was kind of a dick_

_I Definitely Did Not mean to piss you off_

_I mean I definitely did, but that doesnt make it not dumb_

_So err Sorry_

_THIS ONE STILL GENUINELY WANTS TO BE FRIENDS THOUGH_

Lan Wangji stared at it, venomous. How?

**[lanwangi]:**

_Where did you get this number?_

**[unknown number]:**

_FORGIVE THIS ONE FOR HIS SINS_

_Hmm?_

_Oh the uni database_

_duh_

**[lanwangji]:**

_That is private information_

It was left as read and he felt the rising desire to lash out as Wei Wuxian made no further efforts to message him. However, no, he was not part of law enforcement, he could not spontaneously arrest the menace for strongly suspected hacking. Wei Wuxian was a human and Lan Wangji had made a vow to protect all humanity, regardless of their background, personality, history or choices the day he became an Investigator. It was just unfortunate that the greatest threat this person posed was towards Lan Wangji himself.

He had dealt with worse. He had spent more nights than he could count, camped out in abandoned car parks and empty lots, waiting for the true filth of society. He could deal with one very very very very annoying person.

“Hey, Lan Zhan!”

He managed to not break his pen.

Wei Wuxian slumped into the seat opposite him, dumping a huge lab book and a fistful of pens. He sent Lan Wangji a grin.

“What’s up? You looked pissed. Or more pissed off than usual. Like, yeah, you normally look like someone smashed a frying pan into your face, but your foreheads all creased up right now. Something pissed you off?”

(You)

“I can’t believe they still make us do lab books in fourth year!” Wei Wuxian continued on without waiting for any sort of response, “I mean, come on! Just let us write the report and be done with it. Yeesh. I have so many better things to do. My brother told me about this really cool arcade that just opened down on Lotus Pier, and I’d _so_ rather go down there.”

It was almost fascinating, how he could ramble so easily, the end of his pen tapping against his teeth as he filled in various pages, “He keeps accusing me of avoiding him since I never have time to go, which is kind of inconsiderate, considering he has a sum total of _seven_ compulsory contact hours and I have, oh what was it again? Oh yeah, _twenty_. Maybe I should ghost him and actually just study. Ugh, but then he’ll get all _huffy_ about it. Speaking of, you were totally trying to ghost me last night-”

“No.”

Wei Wuxian’s pen emerged from his mouth, “Huh?”

“It was you who didn’t reply.” He responded, coldly, before jumping as Wei Wuxian’s whole presence seemed to brighten up.

“Ahaha! I thought you were ignoring me, Lan Zhan! So you really are listening~”

He inhaled sharply, ears burning, as he curtly dropped his gaze away, pointedly looking away, and feeling them burn all the more as Wei Wuxian’s distinct laughter echoed.

“Oh, don’t be so shy, Lan Zhan! We’re close! So close!”

“Not close at all.”

“Don’t be so cold! I bet you’d have so many more friends if you weren’t such an icy fuddy-duddy.” Wei Wuxian tilted his head, pouting, “I bet all your fans would be so disappointed if they met you in person.”

“. . . Fans?”

“Yeah, fans, duh, don’t you listen to uni gossip?” he began counting on his hand, “you’re pretty, rich, elegant, respectable - of course you have fans! Your personality would ruin the whole thing though. No one would ever want to date someone like you.”

He stuck out his tongue and Lan Wangji felt his ears burn.

“Ridiculous!” he next to spat, turning his gaze away and glaring at his work so hard he was surprised it didn’t burst into flames.

He was almost suspicious as the next ten minutes were spent in total silence.

Wei Wuxian swallowed.

“Um, sorry?”

He looked up, scowling. Wei Wuxian scratched the back of his neck.

“My Shijie’s always saying I have a tendency to speak without thought. Sorry if that, umm, went too far.”

He remained silent and Wei Wuxian licked his lips.

“Right. So. I’ll go now.”

“. . . Ridiculous.” He repeated and Wei Wuxian winced.

“Yep, going now-”

“I didn’t say leave.”

The two of them stood still, the space between them just a little bit fragile.

(Lan Wangji wanted to smack himself. What had _that_ been about?)

He looked up, ready to dismiss the words, but Wei Wuxian was already grinning, relaxing back into his spot.

“Haha, Lan Zhan, are you saying you don’t mind this one?”

“No.”

“I was wrong, absolutely wrong,” Wei Wuxian extolled, “Lan Zhan is actually sort of sweet.”

“Foolish.”

“Lan Zhan, this shyness is rather cute. What would the world think if they knew? But, have no fear - this XianXian won’t spill your secrets!”

“No one’s making you stay.” He responded curtly (curiously).

“Like I said, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian winked, “Don’t be so cold~ We’re friends.”

(They weren’t. They really weren’t. He thought they weren’t)

He walked into his third tutorial and the tutor was on a roll before the class even officially started.

Their assignments, really the only thing most students cared about, were all on the board, dates and weightings listed. A research essay due halfway through, a composer’s statement and an examinable duet piece.

His lips thinned at the last one. ‘Group work’ and ‘Lan Wangji’ had never _really_ gone all that well together. It was always, without fail, where his marks would falter in a subject, his own work unable to save itself from a group that cared far more about getting wasted in a back-alley dumpster at 3am than securing their future.

But it was fine. Fine. He could manage. He had worked with every person in this tutorial (except for one glaring exception) at least once. A duet piece would be difficult, but he could accomplish it.

They went through several compositions, the composers who made them, practiced splitting the music into duets, and by then the tutor had finished configuring the pairs, projecting the spreadsheet up for them all to see. He sought out his and his partner’s name, and his blood rushed to his head.

He didn’t know whether it was outrage or embarrassment or (something else he didn’t quite understand), but his ears were definitely burning.

There were whistles. Actual amused laughs as people read the pairs on the board and arrived at his. Lan Wangji spent the rest of the tutorial stiff like a pole, expression hopefully indicating his level of displeasure.

(It did, judging by the way several people shifted their seats away from him)

He waited for the whole room to empty out before making a beeline for his tutor.

“Excuse me?”

His tutor looked up, unsurprised to find him waiting at the end of class.

“Yes, Lan Wangji?”

“I would like to switch partners.”

His tutor huffed. “I’m sorry but I’ve already said you can’t do that.”

He frowned, but his tutor cut him off right as his mouth opened.

“Firstly, partner swap requests should be made by the whole group, not one member,” he said pointedly, unplugging his laptop, “and secondly, Wei Wuxian is the only person in this tutorial who hasn’t given you a negative score during peer reviews.”

“Because he is a Science student.”

“I know. He has no prior experience with your work ethic.”

His lips tilted down, disdainful. His tutor nodded at him.

“You’re very intelligent, Lan Wangji, you’ll figure it out. Just try not to scare this one off too.”

( _Could Wei Wuxian even be scared off by this point?_ )

Wei Wuxian had returned to their table, hair pulled over his shoulder and loosely tied off at the end, bearing not only in his own coffee-filled thermos, but also a takeaway cup of tea.

He was beaming, holding it out.

“Aren’t I just the best?”

He glanced down and ignored the other. Wei Wuxian poked out his bottom lip.

“Come on, Lan Zhan, we’re going to be partners~ so you can have this and forget all about this one’s thoughtless words yeah?”

A bribed apology. He didn’t verbally respond, but he did accept the tea, taking a grudging sip.

“. . . Sweet.”

“Oh, sorry. I sort of thought you preferred sweeter teas - you’re always drinking fruity ones.”

His comment had been more of an observation than a criticism and he did actually prefer sweeter things, but he hadn’t realised Wei Wuxian had actively picked up on it.

“It is good,” he sighed, and Wei Wuxian beamed, planting his elbows on the table, chin on his hands.

“. . . Hey, Lan Zhan?”

“Hm?”

“Is this one forgiven?”

“Bribery.”

Wei Wuxian kept grinning and he just huffed and glanced away.

“Nothing to forgive.”

Wei Wuxian looked unfairly pleased about that, sitting back and glancing him over, appraisingly.

“Lan Zhan, how old are you?”

He frowned, fingers pausing over his keyboard as he glanced up.

“Why?”

“I’m curious,” Wei Wuxian responded blithely, “this one is twenty-two!”

“Likewise.”

Wei Wuxian tilted his head, “Aren’t you a third year? Surely you weren’t held back a year.”

“Gap year.”

“ _Really_?” Wei Wuxian grinned, “You don’t look the type at all - what did you? Did you travel Europe? South-east Asia?”

“I spent the year doing a training programme.” He said back, simply. “For work.”

“You work?” Wei Wuxian blinked, “aren’t you meant to be some kind of rich heir?”

“Family business.”

“Oh right,” he sat back with an understanding nod, “Yeah, I get that. Still - did you really need a _whole year_ for something your family runs?”

Well, practically speaking, any member of the Lan family was qualified to join up with the CCG by the time they turned eighteen, but protocol for usual applicants was to spend a year’s intensive training before formally getting their white coats and Lan Wangji hadn’t seen any reason for his upbringing to exempt him from such.

He just shrugged.

Wei Wuxian hummed, “Ah, I didn’t do anything like that~ Then again I have just been working at the same place since I was seventeen. I thought of taking a gap year to work and save some money, but my Uncle bullied me into letting him pay for part of my tuition.”

“Mm.”

(He was intimately familiar with Uncles who didn’t know how to show their care aside from being overbearing.)

He didn’t properly glance up as Wei Wuxian leant over, trying to get a look at his computer.

“Sooooo, what are you working on? It doesn’t look like anything for Music. Is it really worth doing at uni?”

“It is important.”

“Everything you do has to be ‘important’,” Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes, fiddling with his books with absolutely no interest in opening them, “what makes this one _more_ important?”

“Wei Ying.”

Wei Wuxian startled, pen falling out of his mouth and a sudden amount of red flared across his cheeks.

The look was surprisingly flattering, “Err . . . yes?”

Lan Wangji looked at him, disapproval leaking out from every part of his face, “You are here to study. So study.”

“R-right,” Wei Wuxian cleared his throat, turned back to his work and began hastily scratching away, calculator occasionally clicking as he worked through a biochemistry assignment.

(The next week, as Lan Wangji walked up to his usual spot in the lecture hall, he didn’t comment as Wei Wuxian brightened and bounced up the stairs to sit down beside him

He didn’t comment as their meet ups at the table on the third floor began to increase)

He had another case.

He walked into his office, only to find a new file waiting for him. With a sigh, he dumped his shoulder bag, shrugged on his white coat and went in search of the Special Investigators’ designated secretary with the file.

Su Minshan looked up with a hostile scowl as Lan Wangji dropped the file on his desk.

“What’s this about, Lan Er-Gonzi?”

He gestured pointedly and Su Minshan sneered.

“It’s a case. Obviously.”

“I have not captured the Footman yet.”

“Oh, if we could all be so lucky as to get to work one case at a time.” The file was shoved back his way, “It comes from on high anyway. The Vice-Director sent it your way.”

Ah.

He nodded, picked it back up and headed back to his office. He _had_ planned to go through the archive files Uncle had delivered to his office, but he could quickly skim through this at least.

(He thought for a moment about checking in on his brother, but the small glimpse into the office on his way through the upper corridors had him deciding to leave the man to the mounds of paper burying him)

He cracked open the file and quickly pulled out the relevant details, taking special note of the ones Lan Xichen had highlighted in bright blue ink.

Ten deaths in that many months.

The ghoul’s victims had been found missing out most of their vital organs, bodies extensively punctured and organs yanked out through each stab.

The ghoul had been given the nickname the ‘Pincushion’ as a result, and was likely a _rinkaku_ user, though an especially sharp _kokaku_ or _bikaku_ could probably accomplish the same thing.

Didn’t seem to have a stable hunting ground, and had instead been steadily moving through the city, hence why the separate offices had taken so long to connect the identical states of the victims to a single hunter.

Current MO profilers estimated current location as somewhere in Meishan.

The latest victim had been a young boy, four days ago.

He leant back and thought. He could prioritise the Footman quickly whilst the Pincushion laid low for the usual month.

(And he still had two assignments to write for uni.)

Alone in his office, he dropped his forehead against his desk and let out a distinct groan of frustration. Absently, he checked his phone to see if Wei Wuxian had messaged him any random photos since lunch, realised what he was doing and almost hurled the device at his office door.

(Wei Wuxian was late.)

Lan Wangji couldn’t stop his eyes from flitting up to the check the time, every so often, as he worked his way through archive notes. Wei Wuxian was definitely late. He was _twenty minutes_ late.

A little angry, he forcefully redirected his attention to his notes. So what if the pest was late? Maybe, for once, Lan Wangji could actually have a productive study session. He really needed a productive study session.

He managed another five minutes of researching and note-taking, before he found himself checking the time once again.

 _Seriously_?

What was _wrong_ with him?

How many times had he damned whatever gods that the other man had decided to target him, of all people, and now that the other was finally not intruding in his life, he was frustrated about it?

He should be thankful. He should be taking advantage of the solitude.

He should be carefully going through case notes so he could narrow down his patrols and rid of the streets of two more monsters.

(Where was Wei Wuxian???)

“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan!”

He did _not_ straighten, and he did _not_ eagerly set down his pens as the other slid down beside him, books immediately exploding over the whole desk, one pen in his mouth, another two in his bun and wearing about half the amount of eye shadow he normally walked around in.

He’d even forgotten to add the eye liner wing to his right lid.

“Sorry I’m late! Did you miss me~?”

Lan Wangji winced internally, huffing aloud and glancing away. Wei Wuxian had arrived, their usual routine had been restored. He should be able to calm down from his bizarre agitation.

(He would not get sucked into Wei Wuxian’s orbit.)

A phone was shoved under his nose.

“I went to go visit my nephew, see? And then traffic was shit on the way back. Isn’t he so cute??”

Lan Wangji blinked down, at what looked like an enormous mound of blankets wrapped around a wrinkled little pink thing, who was very clearly in the middle of screaming his head off as the photo was being taken.

“. . . Mm.”

“He’s almost a year old now - Shijie thinks he might be about to start properly talking. I bet he’s going to say ‘mama’ first. I’ll never forgive that dumb peacock if he beats Shijie.”

He huffed, exasperated, “You show an unnecessary amount of aggression against your brother-in-law.”

“Of course, I do! Every time I see his face, I just want to punch him!” Wei Wuxian emphasised this by slamming his fist into his palm, grinning, “Do you know I broke his nose in high school? If you ever meet him and you see the crook in his nose? That’s me~”

“ _Wei Ying.”_

 _“_ What’s wrong, Lan Zhan?” he grinned, “he deserved it~”

“Overprotective.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” the other laughed, idly opening a textbook and a highlighter, “how many times have you arranged your brother’s dinners this week?”

He just sighed, “Brother is overworked. You are petty.”

“Mhm! I am, I am!” Wei Wuxian sat back and cackled. The motion made his already loose bun slip, the pens very close to falling out. Lan Wangji frowned and went to reach out to redo the knot, but Wei Wuxian froze up when his hand stretched out.

“Ah . . . Lan Zhan? What are you doing?”

“Your hair is messy.”

“My hair . . .? Oh! Haha, Lan Zhan, you really are particular about these sorts of things, aren’t you?” Wei Wuxian happily spun around and Lan Wangji deftly pulled out the highly substituted hair pins. It was surprisingly long, dropping below Wei Wuxian’s shoulders, and he set to work neatly pulling it all back up. Before he could ask, Wei Wuxian had tugged a black hair tie off his wrist, holding it up for Lan Wangji to wrap around the bun, sticking the pens back in to secure it. After a moment to inspect it, he then reached and tugged loose a few strands. Wei Wuxian, now with his face once more framed, laughed, reaching up to thumb one of the strands.

“What’s this for? Aren’t you meant to be putting my hair up?”

“Looks better like this.”

“Well, you’d probably know better than me.” Wei Wuxian bounced in his seat, still speaking as Lan Wangji fiddled, “You know, I should _totally_ take you to my go-to stud shop. I feel like some of their earrings would look amazing on you!”

He paused, slightly, “I do not have pierced ears.”

“Don’t worry, they have clip-ons too.” Wei Wuxian closed his eyes in thought, “And nice hair pins. You’d look good with some of your bangs pulled up.”

Lan Wangji blinked, but said nothing as he finished and sat back. Wei Wuxian felt around to get a sense of the bun, turning to him with a smile that took up his whole face.

“Thanks, Lan Zhan!”

(That night, he received a string of messages, photos featuring a bunch of earrings, silver elegantly twirled around pretty false sapphire gems like the branches of trees. After only a moment of consideration, he picked up the phone and began to message back.

For several hours)

“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! Wait up!”

He tried not to flinch away as Wei Wuxian virtually slammed into his side, beaming.

“Hey, Lan Zhan,” he draped his arm over Lan Wangji’s shoulders, bouncing on his toes, “So when do you want to get started?”

“Hm?”

“On our duet thing.”

Lan Wangji didn’t deign answer, merely shoving the arm off. The other didn’t seem too offended, merely slipping back and easily keeping pace with him as they both walked towards the Tavern. Wei Wuxian shrugged, very self-pityingly.

“Because I’d _like_ to get going ASAP. This is such a small thing, we should get it done in an afternoon.”

“No.”

“No? Lan Zhan, do you know how many mid-terms I have? How many mid-terms I’m _tutoring_ for? I’m gonna lose, like, four weeks of spare time. I don’t want to put all my hours into something like this.”

“Drop the subject.”

“Census dates passed yesterday, Lan Zhan, you can’t get rid of me that easily. Anyways, I work Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, and Wednesday and Saturday mornings. I also babysit Monday and Friday evenings, but that’s on a week by week thing. You?”

He stared. Wei Wuxian was smiling, overconfidently, cheerily, _aggravatingly_. . .

but he didn’t seem insincere.

He clenched his jaw. “I work every evening Monday to Friday.”

“Ah shit, so we’ve really only got Saturday evening and Sunday Morning . . .” Wei Wuxian pouted, and then perked up, “then how about we work on it when we’ve been normally meeting up? That’s been pretty consistent.”

“Too noisy.”

“Well, we won’t be playing instruments right in the middle of the Tavern,” Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes, “but we can write it out.”

“Bad quality.”

“I suppose. Well, then what do you want do?” Wei Wuxian asked, head tilted, moving his arms up behind his head. Lan Wangji huffed.

“I can write a part alone. Then I’ll send it to you.”

He’d made that offer before, to other groups. It had been unanimously rejected.

Wei Wuxian beamed at him.

“I’ll be counting on you then!”

(That night, instead of his case work, he sat down in front of his _guqin_ and didn’t move so much as inch until 4am)

A whole month after he had become forcefully exposed to Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji walked into his brother’s office with a prime suspect in hand, and a strategy in mind.

Lan Xichen read through it primly, smiled, and then signed his file to approve the severe bodily risk he was about to expose himself too.

“I’m glad, Wangji,” Lan Xichen spoke gently, handing it back over, “you look happy.”

Lan Wangji blinked, frowning in thought. He didn’t think he felt particularly different to normal, but his brother had always been more perceptive about Lan Wangji, then even Lan Wangji himself.

Lan Xichen’s smile widened, likely guessing his train of thought.

“Ever since you’ve been spending time with this Wei Wuxian.”

He jolted and his ears burnt. “Impossible.”

“It’s good that you’re making friends,” Lan Xichen just continued, visibly amused by his baby brother’s denial, “You’ve dedicated so much of your life to this institution - I’m relieved that you’ve finally discovered something outside it worth investing in.”

“Not invested.”

Lan Xichen smiled, internally cooing at his cute sibling.

“In any case,” he nevertheless straightened, “you just seem more relaxed. Make sure it doesn’t compromise your safety.”

“I won’t,” at the words, Lan Wangji formally saluted, subordinate to commander instead of brother to brother, and Lan Xichen stood to return it, “I will return when it is done.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Lan Wangji straightened and walked out of the room, not once looking back.

That was a big step, with ghoul hunting.

You couldn’t ever look back, couldn’t ever take a moment to let the fear creep in. The creatures they hunted were powerful, the sort of things that parents used to frighten children before they became all too much of a reality. The dwellers of the shadows that saw humans as nothing more than livestock to feast upon.

To hesitate was to lose your nerve in standing against them.

And to lose one’s nerve was as good as dying.

(Did Lan Xichen really think Wei Wuxian was his friend?)

A few squads were heading out, a mix of Associate Class Investigators, more inexperienced Rank 1 and 2 Investigators, and the occasional Special Class Investigator, but none called out greetings to the lone man in white striding out, his back uniquely emblazoned with a blue cloud motif.

The esteemed Lan Wangji didn’t like company. Didn’t like colleagues. Would rather go off on his own into a nest than take even a single person as backup. The people he was on speaking terms within the CCG were his own family, or their close family friends, who were mostly the main and branch members of the Nie Family. Outside of those acquaintances, he had no one he spoke with, went out with. No one he really dedicated his time towards.

(Was Wei Wuxian really his friend?)

The only thing that kept people from considering him antisocial were his results. He was only twenty-two and he had enough successfully closed cases to rival some of the Investigators who had just tipped past thirty-five years. So, it was absolutely reasonable that the man didn’t really interact with many - after all someone that involved in the CCG had to have a few understandable quirks, right? Gods knew he wasn’t the weirdest of the Special Class Investigators.

(Wei Wuxian was the weirdest person he’d ever met.)

He knew that he worried his brother. Lan Xichen had always bemoaned not being able to give his little brother a childhood outside of the organisation that arrested their mother, broke their father, claimed all of their Uncle.

Lan Wangji had never seen why he had been worried. True, Lan Wangji knew the sacrifices one had to make when joining up with the CCG, but he had never seen his particular lack of social interests as all that detrimental. He had always been a quiet child, confused by the rambunctiousness of his peers, and finding comfort in the routine and familiarity of music and training. Any time he was forced to spend in the company of others for company’s sake was nothing more than awkward, uncomfortable and not in any form pleasing.

(But that didn’t mean Lan Wangji found Wei Wuxian’s company _dis_ pleasing.)

He strode out of the double doors, passing under the last of the RC Scanners, just as the last light of day completely gave way. The night time lights in the city shone over the Headquarters, a vast monument of silver and black, a modern bastion, every day and night finding new and better ways to defend the city from the plague that would gladly devour it alive. Lan Wangji considered himself a mostly emotionally stable individual. It took a lot to so much as dent his current mood, be it positive of negative. However, even he couldn’t feel a small swell of purpose with the CCG Headquarters at his back. Their work was dangerous, secret and downright suicidal, but the reminder of all the good they achieved was enough to sway even him.

(In harsh contrast, the mere thought of Wei Wuxian was becoming enough to liven up his whole day)

The headquarters were located in Qinghe, and he’d narrowed down the Footman to the Baling Ward. This ghoul certainly liked to wander around, but that only indicated that it was testing the waters, trying to keep clear of _something_. He didn’t quite like that unknown variable, but that wasn’t his focus of the night. For now, all he had to do was hop on a train and run his strategy over his head during the fifteen odd minute ride through the Wards. The light rails were always efficient, transporting people safely across the borders of the Wards, protected at every end with anti-ghoul tech, a permanent assurance of safety to discourage people from traversing the back-alley routes.

Of course, they couldn’t discourage everyone, and it was always a grim day when a call came in about a body found near a dumpster, exhausted officer workers missing limbs, a parent taking a shortcut home with groceries, a pack of friends who’d ventured into the dark on a dare.

(Lan Wangji didn’t have any friends.

Wei Wuxian had all too many. Why single out the loner?)

The Footman had been careful - none of the victims had actually been found _in_ Baling, which had been what confused the lower level investigator squads. The incidents had been scattered across multiple wards, no seeming pattern to them, confusing the wits from the ward-based institutions and it was that particular fact that had motivated the administrators to send the case to Headquarters for a more holistic investigation. They had good reason to - Lan Wangji had identified that even though none had been in Baling, all incidents had been on the _border_ of the Baling ward. The wards were random because they weren’t what mattered. With that established, all it had taken was a few weeks of questioning involved persons, especially the unit that had encountered the ghoul, combing over the crime scenes and analysing the somewhat thin autopsies.

Ghouls were creatures of habit, and once he knew the goal - hunting close to Baling without remaining in it - it had been easy to see the pattern in the attacks, their frequency and their likely locations. All he had to do was wait for the most likely victim to leave the crowds, singling their self out as a target for the monster.

(For whatever reason though, Wei Wuxian _had_ singled Lan Wangji out though. He enjoyed spending time with him. Actively wanted to spend more time with him.)

There.

A man, mid-twenties, way too preoccupied with his phone to notice he had taken a wrong turn down a side street, moving further away from lights and shop windows, and more towards graffiti covered walls without a streetlight in sight.

Lan Wangji followed him along, staying up on the roof, gaze widened to the man’s surroundings.

A flicker in the darkness. He leapt over the edge of a fire escape, and his briefcase unbuckled. _Bichen_ unfurled in an elegant slither of white, sharp enough to cut into stone as he slid down the wall, feet slamming into the ghoul’s back just as it moved to strike the unaware man.

Said man jumped, screaming, as the body hit the floor behind him, Lan Wangji’s white coat swirling around the alley, his quinque shining like polished ice.

“Return to the crowds,” he told the terrified almost-victim, voice as calming as possible.

The man glanced between him, and the crushed ghoul a couple of times, before nodding shakily and bolting off back towards a main street. Lan Wangji watched him leave safely, before stepping back right before the ghoul found enough purchase to hurl him off. As it happened, Lan Wangji was already clear, and the ghoul thus threw itself straight into a wall.

“What the fuck?” it gasped, pulling itself out as cement, and brick chips rained out onto the alley way, “You lot just keep coming. One after the other.”

“I am Lan Wangji, Special Class Investigator,” Lan Wangji interrupted, unwilling to deal with a monologue this late at night, “you have murdered at least seven innocents. For that, you will forfeit your life.”

“I’ve got enough problems without a bunch of murderous white coats bothering me. You all have _no idea_ what’s going down in this city. I bet you think you’re a real big fucking deal, but guess what fucker, I have bigger priorities. I need to get out. Can’t you just fuck off? Don’t you have something else you want to do?”

Lan Wangji blinked and twirled his weapon in preparation to strike

(Lan Wangji wanted to be spending his time with Wei Wuxian. Desperately craved such a thing.)

The ghoul ran.

There were always two responses to engaging the ghoul. The most common was for them to strike back, gluttoned, arrogant and too overtaken by their craving to hunt to even notice the distinct white coats, the unmistakeable silver briefcase.

Lan Wangji ran after the Footman.

The other response was, of course, that they attempted to flee. This was more common in newer cases, ghouls not too caught up in their arrogance, prioritising their own survival over their outrage at getting caught red-handed. Most of Lan Wangji’s targets were the former, but he’d encountered enough of the later to not be too fussed. He knew the ghoul’s attack locations, its territory, and its place of retreat. Outmanoeuvring it was no huge challenge.

The ghoul was panting heavily, eyes taught like a feral beast, as Lan Wangji cut it off for a fifth time.

“What the fuck . . . even are you?” the ghoul heaved. Its eyes tightened and the _kakugan_ blazed, as an immense mass of RC cells erupted from the left shoulder, “no human has that kind of stamina!”

Lan Wangji ignored the usual complaints, instead focusing on the RC cells formulating into a long thin blade around its left arm. This ghoul was a stalker, who struck its victims from the darkness of alleyways, the menacing _kagune_ habitually taking the form of an immense scythe to cut off the feet of victims and flee with their bleeding bodies. It had no idea how to use it properly in combat.

(Ah)

 _Bichen_ struck, a fluid extension of his body, the crystal-like surface sharper than the purest of ice. The ghoul’s head soared from the body in a fountain of blood, spread across the alley, the ground, his blade and his coat.

He calmly retracted his sword back into the briefcase, as the body slumped to the ground.

A smile was threatening to break through his aloof visage.

_(Lan Wangji had a friend.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because apparently i have sold my soul to crossovers  
> my brain: okay soooo  
> me: crossover in the tokyo ghoul universe!!  
> my brain: so angst-  
> me, replacing the wool over my eyes: WITH MINIMAL ANGST
> 
> Me, rewatching mdzs: wow, LWJ and WWX were actually kind of Really mean to each other when they first met . . . interesting  
> aka. Time to make LWJ realise he Has Feelings


	2. gradually becoming transparent

“Lan Zhan! Over here! Over here!” 

Wei Wuxian’s call for attention was pointless - Lan Wangji had noticed him the moment he stepped out onto the third floor, but he returned the wave with a nod of his own, heading over.

He was surprised to find music sheets spread out over the table, instead of the usual pages of STEM bullshit Wei Wuxian seemed to somehow consider interesting.

“The second part?”

He didn’t bother taking out his laptop, instead just letting his bag slide to the ground and pulling his chair around so he could also examine the pencilled in notes.

Wei Wuxian pouted ferociously, pencil balanced on his upper lip.

“I’ve been trying. But everything I do either doesn’t match, or things that match don’t really work with the _dizi._ It’s been pissing me off all afternoon and it’s _such_ a _pain_ to concentrate when I’m pissed off.”

Indeed, Lan Wangji noted absently, Wei Wuxian did appear to be finger tapping the table with a much more agitated tempo compared to normal. However, he made no comment, simply perusing the various experimental notes and phrases, blinking as an ear pod appeared in his vision.

“I recorded a couple of things this morning, but I’ve mostly changed them - should still give you an idea.”

“Mm.”

He pushed it into his ear and listened. He immediately winced.

Wei Wuxian was not a bad player. In fact, Lan Wangji was impressed at how clear and precise the _dizi_ sounded. It was just the melody . . .

“I know right?” Wei Wuxian read off his face, “it’s completely disordered.”

“Too passive.”

“Hm?”

He reached into his bag, pulling out the _guqin_ parts.

“This part sits below. Your _dizi_ should take over.”

“You were composing a more supporting melody?” Wei Wuxian folded his arms against the table, “Then surely you have some ideas for the second part? Seems awfully difficult otherwise.”

“. . . Mm.”

“Oh, you do? Then why didn’t you write it out?”

“. . . Don’t know what would work for _dizi_.”

“I see, I see~” Wei Wuxian poked his balanced pencil, sending it tumbling to the desk, “Ah! I know! Why don’t you just sing it? I transcribe shit all the time.”

Lan Wangji stiffened, slightly on the spot.

Wei Wuxian was beaming at him, no air of self-consciousness and he ducked his head slightly, embarrassed.

“. . . I . . . don’t . . . in public . . .”

He felt undiluted shame inject straight into his veins, ears burning as Wei Wuxian blinked, surprised. He wondered if Wei Wuxian was the kind of person who had ever felt stage fright, doubting that a man so predisposed to turning himself into a spectacle could ever be embarrassed by a spotlight and thousands of eyes.

It was stupid, _so_ stupid, for him to be clamming down, all Wei Wuxian had asked for was a short, hummed melody, really-

“Oh, right,” Wei Wuxian pulled back, knocking his own head, “why don’t you just record it for me in private? You know, where there aren’t A BUNCH OF NOSY UNI STUDENTS!”

Everyone watching them curiously spun back around, several muttering apologies, a bunch more laughing out loud.

Lan Wangji just stared at him. “You will not mind being alone?”

Wei Wuxian shook his head with a bright grin, “Nah, no worries. Besides I have to message some guys from my Immunology tutorial. I’ll just wait here.”

He nodded slightly, gathered up some of his things and immediately headed for a more private space. He still had his microphone from one of his earlier pracs, and it was a simple matter to yank it out and start. The first notes caught in his throat and he ultimately restarted three times before finally managing to make a sound. It was still distinctly muted, a pale little hum next to the microphone, but he managed to get from the beginning to the end, saved it into his desktop and brought it back out, oddly nervous.

Wei Wuxian listened intently, ear plug in his right ear, hand up to block his left one, and he sent Lan Wangji a small infectious smile part way through.

“I feel almost like a spy, listening in on a secret message,” he grinned, voice uncharacteristically hushed, “like it’s our code.”

Lan Wangji felt a stir at that, nodding slightly.

“Keep it as such.”

“Huh?”

“Our secret code.”

Wei Wuxian blinked, before beaming. “Yep, yep! Until we perform it, only you and I get to hear it!”

“Mm.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon with their heads down. Wei Wuxian hadn’t been exaggerating about his musical ear, perfectly transcribing down the recorded notes, and deftly flicking them up into an appropriate range and key for the _dizi_.

It wasn’t perfect, and it was nowhere near the length of a whole song, but Wei Wuxian had a surprisingly solid grasp on musical theory, and Lan Wangji wasn’t majoring in it for no reason.

He was almost satisfied with their opening, about to say such to his companion, when, for the first time since this had become a regular occurrence, they were interrupted. 

Rudely, no less.

“What the actual fuck have you been doing!?”

They both turned, Lan Wangji defensive and Wei Wuxian brightening.

Marching towards them with a frown that would be intimidating, if he didn’t know Nie Mingjue, was a man Lan Wangji never thought he’d see in person.

Jiang Wanyin was glaring Wei Wuxian down with all the levels of menace that made Lan Wangji want his quinque. Wei Wuxian grinned.

“S’up, Jiang Cheng?”

“Don’t you ‘sup’ me, you said you’d meet me after my lecture!”

Wei Wuxian blinked once, twice and then casually checked his phone.

“Holy fuck, it’s 4.14?!”

“Don’t disturb others,” Lan Wangji resisted the urge to roll his eyes and Wei Wuxian jumped, scratching the back of his head.

“Oh right. Sorry.”

“And who the fuck are you?” Jiang Wanyin turned to him with all the sort of bristly judgment that Lan Wangji normally wouldn’t take offence to if he had actually met this person before at least once in his life.

That wasn’t to say he didn’t know who Jiang Wanyin was.

The entirety of the CCG knew who Jiang Wanyin was.

It had been a hard day for Lan Wangji’s sense of righteousness, the day he had learnt that there were some ghouls in the city who, despite having their identities known by the CCG, were allowed to continue to do their own thing, regardless of whether or not they hunted humans.

(“They’re too powerful - but in a human way,” his brother had sighed, “old families have money, connections and fingers dipped in multiple pies. If we were to interfere, the CCG would come under attack from all angles, from sponsors to the government itself. So, we leave the most powerful families alone, and in return, they stick their nose out of our business. Ghouls tend to flock to them for protection anyway, so it keeps the numbers of feral rogues down as much as our work does.”)

The Wen Clan who held the Qishan Ward.

The Jin Clan who owned nearly all of the Lanling Ward.

And the Jiang Clan who had claimed Yunmeng.

_Any_ Investigator that ventured into those three wards was fair game - the consensus remained that the Clans stayed away from the CCG, and the CCG looked the other way if any of the three Clans were spotted in public.

Lan Wangji had spent an entire week upset about the hypocrisy of it all - how dare the Investigators claim they were protecting civilians when all it took was a risk of upset politicians to make them stop the chase?

Then he took a commerce elective, became suitably embittered about the economic state of society and reached a level of tolerance where, if he learnt that the Jiang’s mega-corporation had taken over another chain restaurant, he only mourned that the average spice mix of another potential emergency meal location had risen out of his league.

However, having a clan’s heir (having a _ghoul_ ) look down upon him judgementally, made his hackles rise higher than nothing else before.

Jiang Wanyin apparently was taking his silence for rudeness and he was only half wrong. “Too good to talk huh?”

“Jiang Cheng!” Wei Wuxian looked up from where he was packing up his books, askance, “You shouldn’t be so rude!”

“Yeah, well then hurry up and we can go!”

“Go?” he asked, suddenly tense. Jiang Wanyin was filed in the CCG archives as the Sandu Shengshou, a very active S-ranked ghoul with a unique and highly destructive _bikaku_. 

Wei Wuxian was a human.

Ghouls only ever had one goal when they went anywhere with humans, and there was never usually much left over following the goal’s attainment.

Jiang Wanyin sneered.

“Yeah, ‘go’. What’s it to you?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Wei Wuxian held his hands out, to both of them, placating, “Jiang Cheng and I always head to work together on Thursdays. We have the same shift. And Jiang Cheng, we just lost track of time. Stop bullying Lan Zhan, you asshole.”

Jiang Wanyin paused, eyes narrowing at almost the same time as Lan Wangji’s did.

This was a routine occurrence? 

“Did you say ‘Lan’ Zhan?” Jiang Wanyin was meanwhile occupied, turning and given him a very harsh glance over. “Oi, you wouldn’t happen to be Lan Wangji?”

He nodded, “My courtesy name is Wangji, Jiang Wanyin.”

Jiang Wanyin seemed to twitch, lips thinning. So he knew what it meant to be part of the Lan Family, and he knew Lan Wangji in particular.

_Good._

_“_ Hm?” Wei Wuxian, still shuffling books into his backpack, somehow oblivious to the tense staring contest happening above his head, glanced between them, “You guys know each other?”

“Reputation,” seemed a safe enough answer, and Wei Wuxian nodded. Jiang Wanyin looked like he wanted to strangle somebody, and given his hand was twitching towards Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji found that gut instinct _very_ alarming.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He turned to Wei Wuxian, but he was staring Jiang Wanyin down hard, hoping his gaze was as threatening as Nie Huaisang’s rumours said it was.

“Yep, I’ll be here! I promised to tutor one of the first years in the morning, so I might be a bit late?”

“Mm.”

Even better. He had another meeting. Ghouls, smart ones at least, rarely picked on people who had upcoming arrangements, since their absence would only get noticed faster.

Jiang Wanyin was sneering ever harder at him, thoughts clearly running along the same tracks. 

“Come on, you moron, let’s go. If I get pay docked I’m blaming it on your spaciness.”

“Better spacey than so serious girls blacklist you on Tantan!~”

“WHY YOU LITTLE-!”

Lan Wangji could only watch as his friend, his _only_ friend, took off at a sprint, laughing cheerfully, as one of the city’s most powerful and untouchable predators chased after him with murder on his mind.

Suddenly not in the mood for studying, he packed up his things and abandoned the now lonely table.

(“So, were you ever gonna mention that the guy you’ve been non-stop pestering is a fucking _Lan_?”

“Who’s pestering? I’ll have you know he and I are besties. _Besties_.”

“Un-huh. You’re besties with a Lan?”

“Why are you so hyper fixated on him being a Lan? The only other Lans we know are . . . ooooooooh. I completely forgot about that. No wonder you were so pissed~”

“. . . I’m gonna break your fucking legs, you absolute fucking _moron_.”)

Lan Wangji would be lying if he said he came to their usual spot at the usual time.

He would not be lying if he said he got out of his lecture and sprinted virtually the full length of the university to get to the biochem wet labs before Wei Wuxian’s own practical ended.

Neither statement ultimately mattered in the face of the heaving amounts of relief that swept through him upon the familiar sight of black and red trotting down the stairs with three others.

Lan Wangji might have called out, had it not been out of character and had he not been out of breath.

Luckily, Wei Wuxian spotted him anyway. His whole face lit up and he immediately waved. His other friends all turned to his new interest, and a few nudged him playfully. He shoved them off cheerfully, waving goodbye as he trotted over to Lan Wangji’s side.

“Hey Lan Zhan! This is new.”

“I wanted to see you,” he could only respond, unable to go beyond that. Wei Wuxian looked inordinately pleased at the comment, a flattering mottle of red rising on his cheeks.

“Lan Zhan really is too nice! Ah, how did this one get such a good friend?” he dramatically asked the heavens, linking his arm around Lan Wangji’s as the pair turned off, “so usual spot, or shall we go somewhere else today?”

Lan Wangji blinked, “Somewhere else?”

“Yeah! There’s some tables next to the Botany buildings - oh! and the Biosciences have this huge pond you can sit around!”

“Not conducive to studying.”

“ _Plenty_ conducive to studying. My brain starts melting sitting in chairs for so long! Isn’t it so much nicer to be able to spread out in the sun?”

That phrase conjured to his mind an image of Wei Wuxian doing exactly that. He’d probably have his limbs completely spread out, long hair adrift, shirt riding up slightly and that ever-present goofy grin on his face.

He nodded.

Wei Wuxian beamed, turning and tugging him along. “Ah hell yeah! Trust me, I know _all_ the good spots.”

“I trust Wei Ying.”

“You should! I’m very trustworthy!” Wei Wuxian winked at him and he huffed a soft laugh, “if you want proof, stop by my work. _I_ have been employee of the month for the past two years!”

“. . . Really.”

“I’m great at hospitality! Not to mention, when your competition is Jiang Cheng, it ain’t exactly hard to get patron’s votes.”

The casual mention had Lan Wangji jolting back to reality, a reminder about the whole reason for this break in the routine. He couldn’t stop the ball of discontent that formed, as Wei Wuxian chattered on brightly, guiding him to a set of old wooden tables in the middle of a horticultural garden. There were a couple students spread out, stomachs against the grass and laptops open, but aside from that, it was veritably empty.

“Your work with Jiang Cheng . . . what is it?”

“Oh, I never said, huh,” Wei Wuxian shrugged, as they sat down and pulled out books and pens, along with the ever enormous coffee thermos, “I work in a restaurant down on Lotus Pier in Yunmeng - you know the really bougie, touristy bit? It’s really good pay, and at sunset? Every single lake turns gold, and it’s fucking gorgeous. You should _so_ come down one night. I’ll get you a discount~!”

Yunmeng.

The heart of the Jiang Clan.

Of course.

However . . .

“You’ve been working there since you were seventeen?”

“Sort of - I mean, I’ve actually been going there since I was a kid! My Shijie’s been working there the longest, but Jiang Cheng and I both _officially_ started when we were seventeen. Madam Yu, err, that’s Jiang Cheng’s mum, wanted Jiang Cheng to join up when he was fifteen, but we managed to stall her for two years. And then I realised how broke I was because lack of inheritance meant getting cut the fuck off - so I stopped because _I_ needed the job and Jiang Cheng never quite forgave me, little brat.”

Lan Wangji listened, wide-eyed, a bunch of uncertainties all crisscrossing together in his brain as each new comment added layers upon layers of confusion.

“Wei Ying . . .” he hesitated, unsure how to say this without being completely rude. “What is your relationship with Jiang Wanyin?”

“Hmm?” Wei Wuxian looked up, mouth full of pens, half of which appeared to be stolen from various acquaintances given their nonsensical variety, “oh, haven’t I ever mentioned it? Jiang Cheng’s my brother.”

Lan Wangji paused, and looked at him properly.

Wei Wuxian was blinking at him, with zero self-awareness.

“Your . . . your brother?”

“Yep! He’s my shidi! Uncle Jiang adopted me when I was like, seven, or something.” He chugged his coffee, completely unaware of the meltdown currently occurring in his friend’s head, “He used to be a right brat, let me tell you! I always call him my cute little brother, but you would not be wrong in thinking nothing about him is cute.”

Younger brother. Younger brother. Younger brother.

Adopted younger brother.

Jiang Wanyin, the Sandu Shengshou, was Wei Wuxian’s adopted younger brother.

Which meant . . . which meant . . . Madame Yu . . . and _Uncle Jiang_

“You were adopted by Jiang Fengmian?” he somehow managed to sound even toned, and not like a strangled cat.

Wei Wuxian just looked surprised, “Wait, you know Uncle Jiang? He’s pretty introverted - and by that I mean, he’s a hermit and every time I go back home, I have to bribe him out of his office.”

Lan Wangji froze, still in shock from the revelation and caught off guard.

“My family is very prominent in mutual circles,” he pulled out of the back of his mind, “although it is not frequent, we still learn about those we may interact with.”

(Admittedly, true. It’s just that they never really learnt anything positive.)

“Oh right, you’re a Lan, you’re rich as shit, I keep forgetting,” Wei Wuxian knocked his own forehead, tongue sticking out, “but hey, that’s just part of this package~”

He winked and Lan Wangji felt the sigh.

Wei Wuxian grinned, “People always complain that my memory sucks, but I’ll defend entirely that it’s my mother’s fault. Besides, who needs a good memory? That’s why I love science so much! As long as you understand the questions and the concepts, you can figure it out yourself. You don’t just get given a bunch of dead white guys and told to bulk memorise.”

“You still have more content than a Fine Arts major.”

“Well, yeah, but _it’s better_.”

“No.”

“You’re biased,” Wei Wuxian grinned, “please don’t ever meet my family.”

Lan Wangji froze at the last comment. Did he _know_? The Lan Family was pretty well known for its place in the CCG, so it was utterly reasonable for Wei Wuxian to want him to steer clear from his . . . family? Did he really consider a clan of man-eaters as _family_? Had he any choice??

“. . . Why?”

Wei Wuxian burst into laughter, “Cos they’re all total commerce nutcases! Madam Yu had Jiang Cheng taking commerce prep courses before we’d even graduated high school! They all think I’m somewhat deranged for picking science - if they heard you saying stuff like that, they’d just latch on and chew me out for hours!”

That image considerably alarmed him.

Finally, he swallowed.

“Do you live with them?” He asked, cautious. He knew of the Jiang Clan’s estate, a veritable palace extended over the very end of the pier, canals running through the complex itself, and opened out to the whole lake systems.

(And since the Jiang Clan loved hunting in the water, it was an excellent way for them to move around their self-claimed territory without ever getting caught)

“Used to,” Wei Wuxian’s ever present grin dimmed, ever so slightly, “I moved out, I suppose it’s two years ago now? I’ve got an apartment in Yiling. It was a bit closer to uni, _and_ a lot cheaper than finding one in Yunmeng.”

Lan Wangji nodded, turned back to his completely unregistered notes, a little appeased. Small mercies.

“. . . Hey, what’s the Cloud Recesses like?”

He paused and looked up. Wei Wuxian was clearly as focused as he was, and by that, not at all, chin resting in folded arms on the table, head tilted and eyes curious. Upon receiving Lan Wangji’s look, he elaborated.

“It’s that huuuuge estate where your whole family lives, right? I’ve heard it’s gorgeous! Not as pretty as Lotus Pier, but still very pretty. Oh, but isn’t it super regulated?”

Lan Wangji carefully thought about each question. “I share an apartment within the grounds with my older brother. I think it is indeed very beautiful. Residents agree to abide by 3000 rules.”

Wei Wuxian choked on his coffee, “Wait, come again? Thre-three _thousand_?”

“Living in the Cloud Recesses requires one to learn the 3000 rules of the Lan Family,” he rephrased, but Wei Wuxian did not seem to appreciate it any more than the previous comment. His thermos hit the table, dangerously close to a workbook, as its owner just sat up straighter, eyes wide.

“So, hold on, you’re telling me that you know 3000 rules off by heart and you can’t break any of them? _Just_ to live there?”

He just shrugged. The vast majority of them were stuff like ‘don’t kill’, ‘don’t steal’, ‘don’t disrespect your family’ - the sort of stuff everyone followed anyway and just weren’t aware of it.

The rest, like the vegetarian diet, and the temperament training, was all linked up with training to be ghoul Investigators, so even if it was a bit odd to most of society, it was all still fairly natural for the Lan Family.

Wei Wuxian just sat back, vaguely disquiet, “Wait, so, is that why you don’t drink?”

“Mm.”

“Damn. I could _never_ live there. I’d break all the rules in a week.”

Lan Wangji gave him a look over. “A day.”

Wei Wuxian blinked and then immediately sat up, eyes shining. “Ahaha! Did you just make a joke, Lan Zhan? You did, you totally did!”

Lan Wangji just looked away, ears burning, as Wei Wuxian laughed on, “You’re right though! I’ve already broken more rules than I think even the uni’s administrators knew it had!”

“Shameless.”

“Aww, you know me so well~” he grinned, “Just admit it, you like my shamelessness.”

Lan Wangji just looked pointedly down at his notes. Whilst Wei Wuxian laughed loudly, head thrown back, he allowed his fingers to tighten around his pen.

(A member of Yunmeng Jiang.)

Lan Wangji could not prevent the shame filling him as he strode up the stairs of the CCG HQ. Located in the very epicentre of the Qinghe ward, it stood as the beacon against the beasts that roamed the shadows of civilisation. In a recent survey, Qinghe and Gusu had been voted as the two safest Wards to live in, and that faith was rooted in the seats of power of the two dynasties that lived within each. Lan Wangji had spent countless hours of his life in this building, both before and after he officially took up the White Coat. From gripping his Uncle’s coat tails, barely six years old, all the way up to marching in for his own promotion to Special Class Investigator at age twenty-one, it was safe to say he knew this building more thoroughly than his own apartment.

All this meant was that the walk to the archives was far too short and he was coming up to his Uncle’s desk long before he had come up with a comment that wasn’t ‘I think my best friend might be related to a ghoul, but they don’t share a last name and I’m too much of a coward to ask, so I want to snoop through their family records instead’.

“Wangji,” Lan Qiren greeted him, and he saluted in response, “I heard you have taken up the hunt for the Pincushion. I filed that myself - a true blight on our streets. Dispatch it with all due haste.”

“Yes,” he bowed and then turned, “might I investigate the Clan records?”

“The archives are always open to you. Whatever it is you are searching for, make sure the information is reliable - those old Clan records are rather wishy-washy for my liking.”

“Of course, Uncle,” he dipped his head and vanished into the shelves, hoping he wasn’t running. Checking that his Uncle wasn’t looking his way, he made for the great tomes detailing their careful observations of the aristocratic ghoul clans. Just because they were legally hamstrung in their pursuits of the monsters, that didn’t mean they couldn’t keep them under close eye. As such everything, from key family members, to business partners, to employees, all we’re listed and recorded. Many a ghoul had been uncovered in the back door business dealings of the companies, arrogantly hiding in the shadows of more widely recognised figures.

His search didn’t take long. The Jiang Clan was the smallest of the three big Clans, and, despite its common nature, his narrowed down the relevant name surprisingly fast.

_[Wei Changze]_

_Status: Deceased_

_Cause of death: blunt trauma resulting from car crash_

_Position: Chief of Human Resource Development, under Director Jiang Fengmian, at time of death._

_Species: Human (Confirmed)_

_(Further: Attended CCG open seminar ‘Flight, Fight or Freeze; what actions should be taken when attacked by a ghoul’, cleared by HQ bio scanners upon entering building)_

_Notes:_

_Wei Changze graduated from the Yunmeng Business School with first grade honours, alongside Jiang Fengmian (see: ‘Jiang Clan Main Family’, or ‘SS-Ranked Ghouls’)_.

_Received immediate employment with the Jiang Corporation._

_Named Jiang Fengmian as his son’s godfather_

_Named as Jiang Fengmian’s son’s godfather in return._

_Died in a car crash, along with his wife._

_Son was officially adopted into the Jiang Clan._

It was a relief - a minor one, but a relief nevertheless. Maybe he had heard too many horror stories, too many crying testimonies from human ‘pets’, especially the ones given as playthings to young ghouls, to not remain calm upon learning of Wei Wuxian’s relation to Jiang Wanyin.

_Godfather_.

Wei Wuxian’s father and the Jiang Family Head had clearly been close - he couldn’t quite conceive a ghoul naming a _human_ as his only son’s godfather, but considering the infamously reclusive nature of Jiang Fengmian, it spoke volumes about his connection to Wei Changze. Surely the man wouldn’t tolerate his own godson being made into a plaything - Wei Wuxian’s bright outlook and playful relationship with Jiang Wanyin (with his adopted brother) certainly seemed to imply a familial relationship over an abusive one.

It wasn’t a lot. Most of it was assumptions - but it was enough to ease some of the tension out from his shoulders. The rest just agitated his fretting. A human raised amongst ghouls. How must have that affected his life? What must it have been like to grow up amidst monsters who were so dreadfully lacking when it came to humanity?

Ghouls were not social creatures - they were ferociously territorial, ties beyond immediate family were entirely practical, and some conservative theorists even proposed that relationships within families were shallow, merely walking through imitations of human bonds instead of genuine attachment.

No emotional support, no stability, probably not even genuine human interaction if he’d been brought up alongside Jiang Fengmian’s children. A _human_ had been brought up in that sort of environment? What must have that been like? He couldn’t begin to imagine it.Suddenly, he blinked, flicking over to the part detailing to the main family.

_[Wei Wuxian]_

_Status: Alive_

_Species: Human (Confirmed)_

_Notes:_

_Godson of Jiang Fengmian._

_Adopted into main family following the deaths of his parents_

(. . .)

That was it?

He flicked back and forth through the pages, frowning. There were pages and pages of observations on the Jiang Family, where the two current heirs had received their education, their various romantic interests, usual activities, and so on.

Barely _anything_ on Wei Wuxian.

Not his education, street sightings, recorded interactions with other ghouls.

Pardon his language, but what the _fuck_???

For so little data on an individual classified as ‘main family’, Wei Wuxian must have barely been outside for the vast majority of his life. To be kept away from the eyes of the Investigators so effectively he must have been . . . must have been . . .

(Must have been kept locked away.)

Lan Wangji felt his heart stop.

He yanked out his phone and began typing before he could stop himself.

**[lanwangi]:**

_May we meet up?_

**[WIFI]:**

_Haha, what’s brought this on?_ __

_But hell yeah!_

_I’m down for a date_ ( ˘ ³˘)♥ __

_lol jk (haha, unless . . .?)_

_where do ya want to go? We both have sat evenings free, ye?_

_We can meet up tomorrow then see what time works!_

**[lanwangji]:**

_Yes._

He paused. He had contacted Wei Wuxian on impulse, desperate to reach him, to reassure himself. Quickly, he ran through his various schedule and the odd bits and pieces Lan Xichen mentioned, hoping Wei Wuxian wasn’t suspicious of how long he took to reply.

Thankfully, a good option came quickly enough.

**[lanwangji]:**

_There is a flower viewing in Gusu tomorrow night. Is it convenient for us to meet at the University’s station?_

_6.30pm would be ideal to arrive on time._

**[WIFI]:**

_flower viewing??????? HELL YEEAH_ __

_HAHA Lan Zhan, you’re such a cute old man_

_I can get to the station no worries! and 6.30pm sounds good!_

_See you tomorrow, Lan Zhan~_

_I’ll be the cute one (_ ｡ _•̀_ ᴗ _-)_ ✧ _._

He typed a few more messages out, ears tinged red, as he and Wei Wuxian pounded out the remaining details.

“Wangji?”

He didn’t jump. He _didn’t_. But he certainly moved fast enough that he had to reach out to stop the files in front of him from going flying. Lan Xichen deftly intervened on the other side, the combined effort of the Twin Jades enough to prevent an incident that would have sent their Uncle back to the cardiac wing.

Lan Xichen exhaled, straightening up and pressing a hand over his smile as Lan Wangji hurriedly focused on reorganising the various papers without meeting his gaze.

“Did something good happen?”

“. . . Mm.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so fixated on your phone!” he chirped, sitting down next to his brother, “Is Wangji talking with his new friends?”

He couldn’t avoid the pinch on his cheek and he batted away Lan Xichen’s hands, ears bright red.

“Brother, please.”

“Very well,” Lan Xichen sat back, posture straightening up to the standards expected of the Family Head, “however, might I know what’s kept you so occupied for the past thirty minutes?”

“. . . Flower Viewing. With Wei Ying.”

“Ah, the Young Master Wei, huh?” Lan Xichen sounded very knowing and Lan Wangji scowled at him. Unfortunately, his immune older brother just laughed, “Well then, make sure you’re a gentleman with your date.”

(His ears went bright red)

“Wei Ying is my friend.” He responded stiffly and Lan Xichen nodded, a distinct air of humouring about him.

“Of course, of course. In that case, I hope you enjoy your date with your ‘friend’.”

_“Brother_.”

“Lan Zhan! Hey, hey!” Wei Wuxian (his _friend_ ) was waiting for him right outside the University’s main station, the sweeping grounds of Gusu spread out before them. He was bundled up in a thick black coat, hair loose and draping over his shoulders, red scarf half choking him. Winter wasn’t quite upon them, but the temperatures at night were dropping fast enough to strongly contend such - not to mention the gardens were all outdoors - so he’d recommended Wei Wuxian wear clothes accordingly. Sure enough, condensed air was puffing around his mouth as he excitedly called, the cold night bringing red to his cheeks as Lan Wangji reached his side.

“Evening, Lan Zhan!” his friend latched onto his arm immediately, “Are you really going to be fine in just that coat? Do you want my scarf?”

“It is fine.”

“But you have such nice skin! You should protect it from the cold!” the other was already pulling at the red fabric and Lan Wangji waylaid him by clutching his hands.

“We are driving. This way.”

“Driving? You have a car?”

“Mm. The owners of the gardens are associates of the Lan Family. We can get valet parking.” 

“Damn, just lay the seduction on thick, why don’t you?” Wei Wuxian grinned, following at his side and continuing to chat on about nothing and everything as they reached the silver sports car.

“Reaching the station was all right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Wei Wuxian huffed, shivering fingers heading straight for the heater, “the Lotus Garden is right near one of Yunmeng’s big stations so I just brought extra clothes to work and stayed there for lunch. The train ride over to Gusu was kinda busy though.”

Lan Wangji nodded vaguely as he started the engine and pulled out into the early evening traffic. Gusu kept strict traffic regulations, so it was nowhere near as bad as, say, Qinghe would be at this time, but Saturday evenings were going to be busy regardless.

Wei Wuxian pressed himself up against the window, cooing as they drove through the immaculate Ward.

“Woah . . . Gusu’s so pretty. I’ve never really seen it.”

“. . . You attend the University of Gusu.”

“Yeah, but UniGu is right on the station, so I tend to just drop in and out,” he sat back down and grinned tauntingly, “besides, I think you need to walk like, twenty minutes, to find a single fast food joint here.”

“Unhealthy.”

“That is _entirely_ the point, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian bounced eagerly in his seat and Lan Wangji habitually reached over to hold him still.

“We are almost there. Be patient.”

“Right, right,” Wei Wuxian slumped back, but he let out a soft gasp as they pulled into the expansive garden. The trees around them had been decorated with blue and white lanterns, lighting up the paths and hanging over the small driveway leading in.

Lan Wangji pulled up right out front the gates, deftly stepping out and moving around to open the door for Wei Wuxian. The other grinned, various piercings shining in the lantern light as he accepted Lan Wangji’s extended hand.

“So classy, Lan Zhan~” he cooed, but the teasing lilt vanished as soon as he got a proper look at the garden beyond.

“Lan Er-Gonzi,” the valet bowed deftly, taking Lan Wangji’s keys and moving off to park his car. Lan Wangji barely spared him a glance before he moved off to rejoin Wei Wuxian’s side. The other eagerly tugged him along, glancing back and forth, barely waiting for Lan Wangji to accept a map of the various arrangements from a smiling attendant before he was off, bouncing from flower to flower.

It was an exquisite garden, a testament to Gusu’s ability to preserve its beauty. The cusp of autumn and winter, each blossom preserved right before it shrunk from the cold. Combined with the crisp evening air and the haunting lights, the entire garden had been cast into a deeply fantastical atmosphere, the kind that attracted all of the well-off inhabitants of Gusu with too much time on their hands.

(He tried to ignore how many were couples, ears burning)

“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! Smile!!”

He blinked and stared blankly as Wei Wuxian’s arm suddenly swung around his shoulders and he found himself facing his own image in the phone’s camera.

Wei Wuxian clicked a quick selfie, immediately sliding free and humming appreciatively as he saved it.

“Ah, Lan Zhan, I said to smile!”

He huffed and kept walking. Wei Wuxian snickered and danced past him. “Come now, Lan Zhan, you don’t have to look so grumpy! I don’t really get to do this stuff, so we definitely need to immortalise it!”

(Lan Wangji’s attention spiked)

He went to ask, but Wei Wuxian was already heading on, moving to inspect some of the intricate stone lanterns decorating a bridge.

He swallowed aggressively.

“. . . Wei Ying?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” his friend straightened up, turning to him with wide, trusting eyes.

Lan Wangji exhaled, “What do you think about ghouls?”

Wei Ying’s smile faltered slightly, slipping as his head tilted to the side, “Like . . . about their biology? Our laws regarding them? Their general existence? That’s sort of a vague question, Lan Zhan.”

(What do you think about living with them?)

“You are curious about them,” he simply offered his elbow and Wei Wuxian grasped it without hesitation, the pair continuing their walk through the gardens, “You ask questions.”

“Nah, I just knew the ghoul ones pissed you off,” Wei Wuxian grinned, taunting and Lan Wangji huffed. His friend grew slightly more thoughtful, “I guess I don’t think about it a lot? I suppose they interest me - but no more so than someone with pre-frontal brain damage. I like knowing about how the world and the living things within it work. Ghouls just happen to fall into that.”

“Ghouls kill us.”

“Yeah, well,” Wei Wuxian muffled a snicker, “They’re hardly unique with that, Lan Zhan. A lot of things like killing humans - other humans most of all.”

“. . . Do you not dislike them?”

Wei Wuxian frowned a bit more at that, moving his head back and forth as his thoughts sorted themselves out.

“. . . I . . . I dunno really. All the stuff you see about ghouls in the media is terrible - but then it’s not like there’s ever nice things to say about the humans who get arrested for shit like murder in the news either. It’s kind of hard to say I dislike a whole species just because they’re members of said species. If I were to make a judgement on humanity based on the news, then I could just as easily say all humans are murderous assholes.”

Wei Wuxian squeezed his elbow a little tighter and beamed, “And that’s of course not true, because this Lan Zhan is a sweetheart.”

(He could name off the top of his head more people than the fingers on his hands who would disagree with _that_ )

“Wei Ying is moreso,” he offered truthfully. Wei Wuxian blinked, before snorting, hand up to stifle the sound as his breath puffed in front of his face.

“Ahaha, really? You say something like that and then imply I’m the smooth one? Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, you’re selling yourself rather short here~”

He distracted himself from his burning ears by focusing on some delicate white chrysanthemums. His companion remained silent, examining the flower bed at his side, but when Lan Wangji turned back, he found himself frowning at a shadow within.

“. . . Wei Ying?”

Wei Wuxian ran his finger along the thin petals, before letting out a gentle sigh, “Hey, Lan Zhan, have you ever heard this phrase?”

_“These violent delights have violent ends.”_

Lan Wangji blinked. “Yes. _Romeo and Juliet_ , Act 2, Scene 6.”

“Oh, shit, it’s Shakespeare?” Wei Wuxian straightened up, looking over him with wide eyes, “I just know it from Westworld.”

He huffed, fond, “Wei Ying.”

“Right, yes, that’s not the important part.” Wei Wuxian cleared his throat, “I think it basically means that pleasure without restraint is going to end in disaster - that if you burn brightly without check, you’ll start an uncontrollable fire.”

“Mm.”

“I heard someone use it to define ghouls, and I guess that makes sense,” he heaved a slight half-shrug, “you hear all this stuff ghouls get up too just for the shits and giggles, and then get caught and killed by the CCG because of it and all you can think is ‘good riddance - they deserved it’.” He was slowing down, staring up at the trees arching over the path, “But he got the quote wrong - he said ‘these savage delights have savage ends’. I’ve always thought ‘savage’ sort of implies a certain level of primitive behaviour. But _‘violence’_? Anyone could be violent - we just live in a world where we uniquely perceive ghouls as savage beasts.”

“You don’t think so?”

(Were you not raised amongst them?)

Wei Wuxian just huffed and smiled up at him, something small and carefully blank, “I think if you give anyone a valid way to kill, it’s more than ghouls who will be attracted by the ‘violent delights’.”

(He went home with a digital copy of their selfie and thoughts loud enough to ruin his adherence to curfew)

Lan Wangji had been listening to the same thirty seconds of a single song for half an hour when Jiang Wanyin’s biodegradable coffee cup appeared next to one of his textbooks.

On instinct, he slid his coffee-vulnerable papers closer.

“I’m not going to spill my coffee on your shit!” Jiang Wanyin growled, as he planted himself in the chair across from Lan Wangji and drank what had to be half the cup. Lan Wangji took a delicate breath for tranquility, closed his laptop and sat up straighter.

“Can I help you?”

“You think?” Jiang Wanyin sneered, sitting closer, “Stay the fuck away from Wei Wuxian.”

Lan Wangji felt something in his gut coil.

“I cannot.”

“Oh, I bet,” Jiang Wanyin, ever so subtly, bared his teeth, “But let’s make something clear - he’s Yunmeng Jiang, you hear me? If you think about moving on him, you’re breaking some _old_ deals your ancestors signed off on. And I promise, the instant you cross them, I will be the first to shred apart your heart and feed you to the dogs.”

As far as second impressions went, it wasn’t fantastic. Potentially even worse than the first impression.

(Wei Ying had been raised alongside _this_?)

Still, he might as well make some effort to smooth things out - no point in ruffling feathers when the CCG was already so overworked.

“I _cannot_ ,” he repeated, unable to stop himself from sounding testy, “because Wei Ying decided to approach _me_. I do not control him.”

(Unlike you)

Jiang Wanyin’s eyes narrowed and, if they weren’t in the middle of East Lawn, he’d probably be facing down a _kakugan_ about now.

“Just stay away,” the ghoul bit out, irritated, “keep clear of him, or we’ll gut you.”

Lan Wangji’s jaw clenched.

“You could try.”

Jiang Wanyin’s hand twitched around his cup, a slight crease appearing in the paper, and Lan Wangji stiffened, entire body tensing as black tinged the edge of Jiang Wanyin’s sclera.

“What are you two doing?”

Jiang Wanyin swore, jumping, and Lan Wangji almost did similarly, only just snatching his things to safety as the coffee cup fell free.

Wei Wuxian lightly caught it before it hit the table, preventing a disaster and handing it back to his puffing brother.

“Aren’t you meant to be in class for another hour?” Jiang Wanyin bit out, and Lan Wangji resisted the urge to scowl at him. He could at least try to be _subtle_ about sneaking around behind Wei Wuxian’s back. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, didn’t seem too fussed.

“We had an experiment today - finished early,” he glanced between them, and a grin slowly split apart his face, “what, did I interrupt your _date_ ~?”

“NO!!”

Their voices were joined in their audible distaste, and Wei Wuxian stoppered a snort.

“Aww, ChengCheng, don’t be so short - this shixiong just wants his baby bro to finally get a date~”

Jiang Wanyin let out a long suffering, begging for sanity sigh that Lan Wangji found himself internally scowling at its familiarity, “Five days. You are older by _five measly days_.”

“You’ll understand when you’re my age,” Wei Wuxian just dismissed sagely, and ducked the absent swipe his brother sent him, “All right, all right, I’ll knock it off. Do ya mind if I join you? I’ve got an hour to kill.”

“Feel free,” Jiang Wanyin just stood up, brusquely, “I’ve got shit to do.” 

He slung his arm over Wei Wuxian’s shoulder, with a very deliberate side leer at Lan Wangji, “you’re coming around tomorrow night, yeah?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry,” Wei Wuxian was saying, exasperated, but Lan Wangji found himself focusing on the way that arm moved off, and flicked him on the forehead, before the ghoul marched off without so much as an apology for wasting Lan Wangji’s time.

Wei Wuxian, seemingly immune to the very possessive display he’d just been subjected too, sat down with a grunt.“So what _were_ you two talking about? Jiang Cheng’s not really the type for heart-to-hearts.”

He shrugged and Wei Wuxian didn’t push, pulling out his phone and absently texting some of his classmates.

“Is he . . . always . . .” he paused, trying to find a tactful way of phrasing his thoughts.

Wei Wuxian grinned crookedly, “Abrasive? Short-tempered? Dedicated to declaring you’re trying to offend him when you’re really not?”

“Attached.”

“Is he?” Wei Wuxian’s face screened, his nose wrinkling up in that cute way it did whenever he was confused, “I guess . . . He’s not really one to verbalise his feelings, so most of it is non-verbal. It’s like a third language.”

Lan Wangji sighed internally, and didn’t bother to push further.

“Third?”

“Ah, some of the people I’m friends with are selectively mute, so I learnt sign back in,” he thought for a moment, before puffing his cheeks out, “damn, way back at the end of first year. Oh, and English, but I only picked that up for dealing with tourists.”

Lan Wangji blinked. “That is impressive.”

“Thanks! Languages always came pretty easily for me though - what about you?”

“French, English and Latin.”

Wei Wuxian squinted at him, “You _sure_ you weren’t brought up in a laboratory?”

“I am not a designer baby,” he said, deadpan, and Wei Wuxian just cackled. As he waited for the other to get it out of his system, he ran over Jiang Wanyin’s words.

“You are going to his for dinner tomorrow?”

“Mm, yeah, we have a family dinner every two weeks - Shijie can’t come as much as she normally did because Jin Ling is so high maintenance and if he’s in a bad mood, he’ll just scream the whole night long.”

“. . . You speak from experience?”

Wei Wuxian nodded so hard his head bounced, “Kid’s got _lungs_. I blame his father entirely.”

“One day, you will offend someone important.”

Wei Wuxian shrugged, and his grin shifted all too easily to mischievous, “Hey. Better to ask forgiveness than permission.”

Lan Wangji pinched the hand closest to him.

Wei Wuxian snatched it back with a yelp, quickly melodramatically blowing on the pinched skin, “What is your grip strength, Lan Zhan?? Seriously, you could dent a doorknob with that.”

“Ridiculous.”

“No jokes - you should try it some time,” Wei Wuxian suddenly perked up, “speaking of, my shift today got cancelled. You don’t have afternoon classes, right? We should go out again!”

Lan Wangji blinked, “You . . . wish to see more flowers?”

“No - I mean, sure, if you want to, but I meant more generally,” that beaming grin took over his face as his head went crooked, “we could do something more chill, like head to an arcade or something! Last time we hung out together was super fun!”

(Fun?)

“This afternoon?” he repeated, slowly and Wei Wuxian nodded eagerly, “. . . The arcade then.”

His friend actually clapped, happiness radiating from his whole being. “Cool! I’ll come meet you after your next lecture!”

Lan Wangji gave a single nod, unable to stop the small swell of actual excitement. He did not like arcades but with Wei Wuxian? It might even be fun.

Or at least, it would have been, if Jiang Wanyin hadn’t been waiting for them inside the arcade with a face sourer then spoilt milk. The only thing preventing Lan Wangji from turning and dragging Wei Wuxian to safety was the assortment of miscellaneous people scattered throughout the arcade. He knew them as the various individuals Wei Wuxian hung out with and most, if not all, called out greetings as soon as Wei Wuxian stepped inside.

(A small coil formed in his gut. Was that what their friendship was in Wei Wuxian’s eyes?

Just one of many?)

“You invited others?”

“There a problem with that, stalker?” Jiang Wanyin asked, voice challenging. He was the only one not already at a game, instead blocking their way.

Wei Wuxian whacked his brother.

“Arcades are always more fun with more people!” he chirped happily, before taking Lan Wangji’s arm and leading him through, “now come on, come on, you’re doing the whack-a-mole and getting me a ton of tickets!”

“Wei Wuxian-!”

Wei Wuxian elbowed past his brother, dragging Lan Wangji into the depths of the raucous building. Lan Wangji, in a fit of childishness, sent a smug little glance the ghoul’s way, before willingly following along.

(He enjoyed the strangled growl that echoed behind them)

Regardless of the ghoul desperately trying to glare him off, the two ended up spending more than two hours in the arcade. Others would come up and chat, Wei Wuxian trading conversations and moods rather liberally, but not once did he detach from Lan Wangji’s side. They moved from the whack-a-mole (Wei Ying was quicker), to racing games (Lan Wangji won by virtue of never crashing), all the way up to ball tosses (Wei Ying again) and the various crane machines (Lan Wangji ended up getting about five different stuffed animals to Wei Ying’s delight - the other had a tendency to be too hasty and miss everything).

Jiang Wanyin had been tugged away at some point to play a shooting game and he took the opportunity to risk leaving Wei Wuxian’s side to go get them some drinks - iced tea for him and a black coffee for Wei Wuxian (did he drink anything else??)

When he returned, he found his friend energetically dancing back and forth at the DDR, hair flying with each motion, earrings bouncing with each step, playing against one of the other science guys he often hung around with on campus. Lan Wangji decided to approach the person watching them, lightly fanning himself with a cheap paper fan he’d bought with his arcade tickets.

“Your shift began twenty minutes ago.”

Nie Huaisang let out a vaguely strangled squeak.

“Lan-xiong?! You really came?!”

Lan Wangji stared stonily at him, before turning to look through the flashing lights and flickering screens.

“Did you know about Jiang Wanyin?”

“Jiang Wan . . . oh, you mean how he and Wei-xiong are brothers?” Nie Huaisang caught on, fluttering his fan a bit quicker, “Well, yeah. It’s in the archives. But it did take me a while to figure out - he’s not super present. They’re pretty different people and they like different hangouts.”

(Yeah, no kidding)

“He is possessive,” he rumbled, irritable. Thinking about it all was giving him a faint headache and the thudding speakers weren’t helping any. Nie Huaisang just sighed slightly.

“Maybe it’s more protective. You are . . . well, _you_.”

He blinked, slightly confused as to what that meant and Nie Huaisang just sighed again.

“Never mind.”

“Hey, Huaisang-xiong!” Wei Wuxian bounced up to the pair of them, grinning, “When’d you get here?”

“Like, thirty minutes ago.”

“Ditching again?”

“He shouldn’t.” Lan Wangji glowered and Nie Huaisang let out another squeak, darting back behind Wei Wuxian’s back for safety. Their third party just glanced between them in surprise.

“Oh, right, you guys work together or something, don’t you?” Wei Wuxian said, before immediately frowned, “but don’t you work for your family business?”

“The Nie and Lan are partners.”

“Huh . . .” Wei Wuxian accepted the coffee with a ’thanks’, draining half and shaking out his sweaty hair, “sometimes I forget you’re actually pretty rich, Lan Zhan.”

“But not me?” Nie Huaisang asked, a trace indignantly and Wei Wuxian snickered, slipping free to leave the man in the open as he returned to Lan Wangji’s side.

“Well, no, because you’re bougie as fuck.”

Nie Huaisang beamed without shame as he high-fived Wei Wuxian.

Lan Wangji just let out a faint sigh and Wei Wuxian immediately spun back around to him.

“Ah, do you want to go outside for a moment?”

“. . . Mm.”

“Okay then! See ya around, Huaisang-xiong!” Wei Wuxian waved absently, as he tugged Lan Wangji out to an open-air balcony Lan Wangji hadn’t even realised existed.

“Sorry if it’s a bit overwhelming,” Wei Wuxian immediately grinned, a bit crooked, as he scratched the back of his head, “I hope you’re not too bored.”

Lan Wangji blinked.

“Not bored.”

“Really?”

He nodded, “It is fun. Being with Wei Ying.”

Wei Wuxian beamed and Lan Wangji felt warm. “You are having fun too?”

The beaming smile just grew, “Hell yeah! Stuff like this is the best! Did you see my DDR score?! I fucking _crushed_ A-Ning!”

“Mm.”

“Next time, we should play co-op together!”

“Mm.”

Wei Wuxian let out a happy sigh, stretching his arms up and causing his shirt to stick to his sweaty arm pits. “Seriously though, Lan Zhan. Thanks for coming. It’s nice to do this every so often – I didn’t get a lot of it as a kid.”

Lan Wangji watched him, wavering. Was this a moment for him to encroach? Should he inquire further into Wei Wuxian’s life? Or just accept this moment as it was?

“. . . Wei Ying-”

“And what are you two doing?”

Lan Wangji turned, immediately glowering, to find Jiang Wanyin standing in balcony’s doorway, sour expression a match to his own. Wei Wuxian just grinned and waved for him to come closer.

“Ah, Lan Zhan just got a bit overwhelmed. How are you doing?”

“Wei Wuxian, you . . .” Jiang Wanyin just let out a sigh, sent Lan Wangji a stink eye and turned away, “I’m heading to A-Jie’s - promised I’d help her with some extra work. See ya.”

“Give a kiss to A-Ling, and a punch to the peacock, from me!!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Jiang Wanyin sent the Investigator one final dark look, before pulling a bag higher up his shoulder and heading off to get his tickets exchanged.

It wasn’t the most auspicious moment to end on, but it reminded Lan Wangji that he _did_ have work to get too. “I should go soon, as well.”

“Mm, yeah, feels like a good point to start wrapping up,” Wei Wuxian just grinned, holding up their extensive piles of tickets, “let’s go cash these in before the arcade kicks us out.”

They headed back in and Lan Wangji hesitated for the briefest of moments.

“We should . . . do this again.”

“Really?” Wei Wuxian looked up at him and his eyes shone, “You don’t mind?”

He nodded, a bit stiffly, “Next time though . . . just us. Quieter.”

“Sounds good! I picked this time, so next time you can totally call it!”

It wasn’t a fantastic place to end their time.

But as Wei Wuxian insisted the pair take a selfie with his brand new ticket-exchanged set of shot glasses, the promise of a next time behind it, Lan Wangji found he didn’t mind at all.

(“GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!”

“Da-ge, calm down-”

“ _Fourteen_ , Xichen! Fourteen fucking people all just GONE in twenty-three hours! And we’re just sitting around, staring at _fucking papers_!!!”

“Please calm down, Da-ge, we _will_ solve this - now don’t rip those ones . . .”

On the other side of the office wall, Lan Wangji slowly lowered his hand and instead placed the small box beside all the others left uneaten.)

Sunday was his day off, the day he normally dedicated to catching up on any university work he’d neglected during the week in favour of doing his Investigative work. It was also another time when Wei Wuxian wasn’t juggling his life between his hospitality and babysitting jobs and his bulky uni hours.

So when Lan Wangji had read that Laoling Park had erected a temporary ice rink, drawing in guests before the lakes and rivers all actually began to freeze, he’d quickly contacted his friend and was soon driving out from the Cloud Recesses, a pair of thick socks in his car and his phone lighting up on the passenger seat.

He found Wei Wuxian already at the ice rink, half asleep on one of the park benches, identifying hoodie off and draped over his face.

Sighing, he walked over and nudged him.

“Wei Ying?”

“Mm, five more minutesssss . . .”

He might have rolled his eyes. Instead he reached down and swiftly pinched the delicate part of Wei Wuxian’s hip.

He deftly dodged the flying hoodie as Wei Wuxian jumped up with a piercing yelp, glancing around, before fully processing him and immediately pouting.

“Lan Zhan!” he said, indignant, “Don’t be so rough! I’m a delicate man, you know!”

Lan Wangji ignored that, merely bending down to retrieve the fallen hoodie and holding it out. Wei Wuxian huffed, but after a very grandiose consideration of the gesture, accepted the hoodie and the apology.

“You should have worn something warmer,” he observed as his friend shrugged on the garment. Wei Wuxian just shrugged, flicking out the ends of his hair - today a ponytail, revealing the remnants of red dye at his tips.

“It’s fine - once we start skating, I’ll be plenty of warm.”

“At least gloves.”

“Don’t _worry_ , Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian latched onto his arm as they headed over to the line, “you’re such a worrywart.”

He frowned, deftly paying for the two tickets and hired skates before Wei Wuxian could so much as reach for his wallet and then pulled them inside to the skate hire. Wei Wuxian grabbed his first and immediately ran off to a bench to swap without waiting for him and Lan Wangji just huffed. After a few more minutes, the park helper found a pair his size and he moved off to find his own spot.

He mechanically swapped his socks and began buckling up the skates, unable to stop the faint nostalgia. He hadn’t been ice skating since . . .

(Huh)

Father had been there, so he must have been younger than ten, skating on one of the frozen lakes in the Cloud Recesses with Lan Xichen.

“Lan Zhan? Lan Zhan!”

He glanced up to find Wei Wuxian standing above him, head tilted in curiosity, skates on and hands stuck in his armpits. “You okay? You sort of zoned out on me there.”

“. . . Your hands are cold.”

Wei Wuxian let out a smug snicker, hands moving to his hips, “As if! The cold couldn’t hope to defeat this . . . Lan Zhan, what are you doing?”

Lan Wangji was completely stern as he took Wei Wuxian’s hands into his own and pressed them together to warm them up. “Let’s go.”

Wei Wuxian must have been colder than he thought, because when he glanced up, he found the other’s cheeks bright red. Concerned, he stood up in a single movement and they clipped over to the rink’s gate, waiting as a bunch of little kids came tripping past, various guardians close and anxious as they all slipped and skidded over the ice. Wei Wuxian didn’t seem to have it in him to wait any longer, deftly stepping out and briefly wind milling. Lan Wangji immediately followed, ready to catch him, but the other successfully regained his balance and smoothly skid around to his side.

“Just like riding a bike, huh?”

“Mm.”

Wei Wuxian grinned, tested his skates as they began lapping the rink, Lan Wangji gliding beside him. And then the other turned and Lan Wangji was definitely developing some kind of conditioned flight-or-fight response to _that_ smirk.

“Try and keep up then, Lan Er-Gonzi~”

Without warning, he kicked off, zooming over the ice and easily dodging around the much slower kids and families stumbling about. Lan Wangji frowned, lightly pushed off with the wall, and immediately chased after him.

After moment, he found himself having to push himself a bit harder.

Wei Wuxian was by no means a graceful skater, his style much more akin to sprinting across the ice rather than gliding, but he had incredible reflexes, weaving around objects without so much as a dip in speed, even switching up onto a single skate as he ducked beside a clapping child.

He did shriek as Lan Wangji cleanly grabbed his wrist, skidding him sideways. Before he could overbalance and bring them both down, Lan Wangji quickly tugged him closer, angling his skates and the two cut a wonky circle into the ice. Wei Wuxian just blinked up at him, chest against his own, before tipping his head back and bursting laughter.

“Wei Ying.”

“Sorry, sorry, this one apologises. He is no match for the mighty, Lan Zhan, haha!”

“Mm,” he broke away, took Wei Wuxian’s arm into his own and delicately escorted him off for another lap. Wei Wuxian matched his speed easily, gaze not breaking from his own.

He arched an eyebrow in question.

“Lan Zhan is much happier now!” Wei Wuxian chirped, an air of know-how about him, “this XianXian is glad.”

Lan Zhan blinked, before merely squeezing the hand in his own.

Eventually, their session drew to a close, park helpers at the gates in case anyone stumbled, the two of them waiting for most of the kids to be out before following along and returning their skates.

They emerged from the rink and the sight that greeted them ruined Lan Wangji’s entire day.

Jiang Wanyin was leaning against a car no university kid should be able to afford, arms folded and murder on his face. He had parked somewhat illegally on the curb closest to the park, but no one seemed too eager to approach the terrifying looking man to correct that.

Wei Wuxian was clearly not most people.“Jiang Cheng, if you get another parking ticket, I’m telling Madam Yu.” he frowned pointedly at the car. Jiang Wanyin sniffed, giving Lan Wangji a sceptical look.

“You said you’d be home at 12. It’s 1.30.”

“I said I’d come over _around_ 12, damn, curfewing me much?” Wei Wuxian sniffed, dismissive, even if Lan Wangji’s stomach tightened. His grip went white around Wei Wuxian’s wrist, refusing to let their morning of fun be ruined.

“See you tomorrow?”

Wei Wuxian smiled, so wide and radiant, “You got it! I’ll be looking for you when I come out of my stupid prac.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Hurry it up,” Jiang Wanyin snapped, foot tapping the ground. Wei Wuxian stuck his tongue out, casually swiping open his phone.

“Before we forget - smile, Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian gave his normal effervescent grin towards the camera, completely unbothered by Lan Wangji’s lack of said smile, turning to beam at him, “you sure you don’t want me to pay you back?”

He shook his head, firm, “My treat.”

“You’re actually the best,” Wei Wuxian clutched his wrists behind his back, beaming, “see ya!”

He twisted and moved in the same motion, dancing around to trot back over to his adopted brother.

Jiang Wanyin pushed himself off the car, with a “fucking finally,” tossed out.

“A-Cheng, A-Cheng, who drives their own car through the city? You’re showing your money here, A-Cheng.”

“Who the fuck’s A-Cheng? Get in, moron,” he pulled open the passenger door, arm extending possessively over the top whilst his brother passed under. As Wei Wuxian vanished behind tinted windows, Lan Wangji held himself resolute, meeting the cold challenging stare of the ghoul as Jiang Wanyin made his way to the driver’s seat, not breaking eye contact.

“We have a family dinner tomorrow night,” he suddenly spoke up, voice curt, “so don’t think you can organise something last minute.”

“I know. Wei Ying has already told me.”

Jiang Wanyin’s face curdled and he slammed the door shut behind him. The car wheeled off the sidewalk and tore into the Laoling traffic, with the sort of speed and recklessness that would make him nervous if the driver didn’t have reflexes within single digit nanoseconds.

When he next reached their table, he discovered Wei Wuxian in a very rare Bad Mood.

Lan Wangji watched him blandly, absently reaching out to rotate the pen in the other’s mouth before he bit down on the nib, “What is wrong?”

“I have a double shift tonight,” Wei Wuxian mumbled into the table, now gnawing on his pen’s end, “I _hate_ double shifts.”

“Can you rearrange?”

“Not really. A bunch of guys are out sick, so we’re all filling in wherever.” He groaned, “I pulled the short straw. I’ve had three lined up just this week when I’m only meant to do them, like, once a month.”

“Will you be all right?”

Wei Wuxian thought it over for a moment, before inhaling and properly sitting up.

“Yeah, don’t worry! You can count on this XianXian!” He posed, very deliberately cutely and Lan Wangji arched an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Of course.”

“Aw come on, don’t look at me like that! It’s reasonable to complain about working until, I don’t know, one in the morning!” he idly kicked the table leg, irritation resurfacing, and Lan Wangji felt no need to input that he regularly patrolled until well beyond that. But, always one to forget his worries, Wei Wuxian had already moved on to a new topic, mentioning something or rather about science field trips and research projects and practicals that had Lan Wangji caring strictly about his friend’s enthusiasm over any of the actual content.

“So what about you?” Wei Wuxian suddenly swerved, “What’s your night looking like?”

“Depends.”

“Oh yeah? On what? Thought you’d get pretty flexible hours.”

“I work based on projects, not hours - they can be quick or slow.”

“Daaamn,” Wei Wuxian drew out the word, “I would get so fucking distracted. How’s your current one going?”

“I should be finished today. But it might take a while.”

“I get that! You start knowing you’re going to finish that day, but suddenly there’s like ten million little things to tidy and you _do_ get it done, but it’s still super late and you’re just _exhausted_.”

“Mm. Likely a late night.”

(After all, it was the end of Pincushion’s month - tonight, he had a ghoul to kill.)

The hunt began just as he liked it - he got his case cleared, strode out of the CCG without looking back, and then caught the first ride across to Meishan, briefcase resting atop his lap.

The only looming complication that arose was his investigation had led him to conclude the ghoul might very well have reached the touristy area around Lotus Pier. He stepped off the light rail into the pouring rain, coat pulled up against the weather, as he quickly rang up Lan Xichen.

“Permission to work in Yunmeng?”

_“. . . Just be careful, Wangji,”_ his brother warned softly, _“If you’re crossing into Jiang territory, and if this Pincushion is truly responsible for all the deaths, it is likely that the Jiang Clan will be seeking to put him down as well. If you should encounter any of them, you are to retreat immediately - they have authority there.”_

“Yes.”

He pocketed his phone and continued strolling idly along the path. His white coat and briefcase were recognisable, the crowd splitting for his imposing figure, a beacon of white amidst the dark grey of umbrellas.

He, too, felt that interacting with the Yunmeng Jiang Clan would be undesirable. Not just because the Clans always got territorial whenever they encountered Investigators tracking kills they considered rightfully theirs, but more because he wasn’t quite certain he’d be able to stay calm if he ran into a certain S-Ranked member of the family.

He did his best, at least. Meticulously traversed Meishan with all the intent of not leaving, but half an hour past midnight, it was fairly obvious that Pincushion had truly crossed into the neighbouring Ward. With a faint sigh, he caught a bus over and set about walking through the extensive wooden boards spread over the Ward’s famous lotus lakes.

Pincushion was a trailer, a ghoul who waited in the crowd for an intended victim to wander off alone and then followed behind them. Such ghouls, as long as you knew how to look, we’re easy to spot in the crowd.

(It ticked over one in the morning.)

There it was.

The ghoul was hovering at the edge of the crowd, jittery, tense, hood up against the rain and movements slightly too frenetic to be human. After a moment of indecision, it left the pier side for a main street, keeping close to some of the more convoluted side streets that curled all over Yunmeng. Lan Wangji checked he was downwind, the rain further masking his smell and footsteps, before lightly following on behind. In the increasing rain, even his white cloak didn’t stand out and it was effortless to keep a reasonable distance and follow behind.

(And then it all went wrong)

The ghoul had been trailing after a teenage girl, raincoat up, headphones in, when a young man, black long coat up against the rain and tinted glasses over his eyes, suddenly stepped in between them, mouth a flat line as he tapped the ghoul’s shoulder.

Whatever he held in his hand had the ghoul bolting.

The crowd all jumped as the ghoul let out a piercing scream and plowed his way through the packed sidewalk, many startling away, yelling in annoyance as umbrellas were knocked out of hands.

(The one in the glasses vanished back into the crowd.

His long coat’s collar fluttered to reveal the distinct purple beneath)

Irritation rampant, Lan Wangji just ducked into the nearest side street and began making his way through the less crowded area, as ahead of him, Pincushion desperately fled through the streets.

(Others were coming)

A door swung open and a young girl in a purple hoodie slid out, beaming despite the rain now in her hair, washing over a mask depicting a melting half-moon.

Pincushion skidded to a stop, path blocked. The mud on his boots slowly washed off in the rain, joining the wet mess splattering with each step of the approaching parties.

(Lan Wangji slid behind a building’s edge, able to see, and still safely downwind.)

From the side alleys, the roofs, the buildings, the various ghouls of Yunmeng Jiang prowled out, clothes of purple, accessories decorated with the same stylised lotus, all their masks handmade and eerie.

Through the crowd, the ghoul in glasses emerged, long coat open to reveal the black suit underneath, plum dress shirt sticking to his chest from the damp.

“Welcome to Yunmeng, child-eater,” he greeted politely, “your habits ain’t consistent with the code of the Clan. For barging in so rudely on _our_ territory, you’re gonna die tonight.”

“Come on, man!” Pincushion protested, “Just let me get one! I’ll be out of your turf before the end of the night - I’ve got doves on my tail-”

“Oh we know,” the ghoul in glasses tilted his head, “so sorry, but you know how it is with orders from the brass. Our da-shixiong wants you dead.”

Pincushion ran.

(Lan Wangji was surprised it even tried)

The purple clad ghouls had Pincushion restrained within mere moments, brutally efficient in the takedown and well advantaged in numbers. The ghoul howled as one particularly vicious ghoul ripped off his lower legs, whilst another’s scorpion-like _bikaku_ slithered out and skewered Pincushion’s _kakuhou_. Satisfied, the Yunmeng Jiang ghouls tossed Pincushion rather dismissively into the mud, deftly fanning out to form a loose semi-circle around it, all bowing towards something not quite in Lan Wangji’s line of sight.

“Da-shixiong.” The one in glasses greeted.

“Good evening everyone. You really took your time tonight, didn’t you?”

Pincushion struggled up, hands stained from the mud, face white amidst the dirt as it was raised in horror.

(Lan Wangji felt his eyes narrow ever so slightly. The ghoul was _trembling_.)

At the harsh cry of terror, Lan Wangji smoothed himself further into his hiding place, deeply wary. 

Striding through the alley was another ghoul. This one wore nothing but a black robe, swirling around their feet with each step, the purple lotus stitched into the belt the only sign of allegiance to a Clan. The mask was oddly plain, nothing more than a flat black oval, one quarter carved away to reveal the ghoul’s active _kakugan_ , the other nothing more than a painted eye - depicted as shut with a red tear. The cloak’s cowl hung over the rest of his head.

The ghoul quivered, struggling onto his ruined knees and pressing his head over and over into the muddy ground.

“My Lord, I didn’t know! Forgive me! Forgive me!!”

“You didn’t know?” the voice was male, cold and clinical (mocking), “Didn’t know what? That this was Yunmeng Jiang territory? That you broke our code? That you’ve made enough of a commotion to have the doves come sniffing? That I~ was the one assigned to put you down?”

“ _No, my Lord, I’ll repent, I swear-!!_ ”

The other ghouls were silent, heads still lowered, Pincushion a blubbering mess. Lan Wangji frowned. He’d never seen or heard of a black clad ghoul, tied to the Jiang Clan or otherwise. Yet this level of deference - the figure had to be at least A-Rank. Maybe even S-Rank.

The ghoul in black walked forward, boots squelching in the mud, a hand extending out to run along the underside of Pincushion’s chin.

“Oh, sweetie,” the words were gleeful, “it’s far too late for you to repent.”

In a swift movement, he shoved the ghoul back and every single _kagune_ belonging to the surrounding Clan members sprung free, piercing the ghoul midair. The body trembled, suspended above the mud, impaled in at least fourteen different places.

The ghoul in black giggled.

“Well look at that - now he’s really a pincushion.”

“What do you want us to do with it, Da-shixiong?” the girl in the purple hoodie asked. The ghoul in black shrugged.

Under some command, they all removed their _kagune_ , dissolving them away, and the hole-ridden body fell to the ground in a grubby splash.

“Take him to an incinerator,” the ghoul in black sniffed, moving his hands behind his head, “a corpse can be picked up by the doves, and who wants to eat that?”

“Sir!” they all bowed to him, several picking up the corpse and beginning to move away. The ghoul in black laughed as their hands slipped on the muddy body, and the dead ghoul was rather ungracefully dropped back into the dirt.

“Well, that’s that, I suppose,” he reached up and removed his mask, spinning the rounded edge on his finger, “nice work, everyone! Let’s head home.”

There was a chorus of salutes from the clan ghouls, all moving to vanish back into the shadows. Lan Wangji, dissatisfied with the turn of events but recognising the case was closed, prepared to slip away.

And then he paused.

The ghoul in black was humming.

It was quiet, and it was soft, barely audible under the rain, as if the ghoul hadn’t meant for his subordinates to hear it. It was incomplete, but delicate and sweet, a melody intended for a _dizi_.

(It was . . . _impossible . . ._ )

The ghoul in black turned in a swirl of his immense cloak and for a brief moment, through the rain and the cowl and the unruly bangs, Lan Wangji gazed at an all too familiar pair of silver eyes.

And then the ghoul vanished into the shadows and he was left frozen against the bricks, heart pounding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this second chapter :3
> 
> Alternate Chapter name: LWJ tries to Investigate but WWX is too Pretty  
> The biggest challenge? Writing Jiang WANYIN over and over
> 
> me: what could make powerful people wilfully ignore dangerous people/clans?  
> me: oh right! money!


	3. don't bother to stare at me

Lan Wangji was playing dirty. He knew it.

As he walked out of his lecture, books weighing down his backpack, and a neatly wrapped box in his hands, he could already feel the tremulous strains of guilt digging into his gut. Furious at the feeling, he tried to rationalise his actions. There was nothing wrong with offering food to a friend, nothing wrong with being concerned about another who seemed to do nothing but drink straight shots of coffee. He was either offering a friend free food that would be appreciated, or he was offering free food to a ghoul in which case there was absolutely no reason to feel guilty.

At all.

A ghoul was a ghoul.

A ghoul was a human hunting monster.

(Wei Ying was a ghoul?)

“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan!”

The devil himself waved from their usual spot, about ten textbooks spread around him and his make up’s sole purpose seemed to be disguising the look of a man who hadn’t gotten more than an hour of sleep the previous night. He’d brightened up at the sight of Lan Wangji, waving frantically enough to hit a passerby if they weren’t all so used to it by this stage.

“Wei Ying.” He politely greeted, heart beating so hard he was surprised Wei Wuxian wasn’t about to call him out on it.

_[Ghouls have sensitive enough hearing to detect changes in a human’s heartbeat within close range. Always strive to have a calm pulse and even breath to minimise the likelihood of detection.]_

“So anyway, are you ready for a rant? Because I’m ready to rant. I got to my stupid fucking lab this morning, _an 8am Monday_ lab, which has been the biggest regret of my semester, I swear and all I hear is this dumb tutor harping on about ‘what’s the point, you’re all failing anyway’, ‘might as well study because you’re sure as hell not going to finish the experiment’, and like dude?! You’re meant to fucking help us, not spend three hours mocking us? Eventually, Shi Qingxuan distracted him whilst I tied his shoelaces together. He might have gotten a concussion, but will I get back three wasted hours of my life? No!”

“Don’t prank the people who assign marks.” He responded robotically, before frowning at how easily he’d been diverted. Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes.

“No, he’s just a substitute - probably failed his own degree and is now taking it out on the rest of us.”

He paused there, flicking through his textbook for something as he continued to drain his way through his monster thermos of coffee.

He couldn’t ask for a better chance.

“W-Wei Ying,” fucking hell, of course he had to stutter. Wei Wuxian immediately looked up, concerned.

“. . . Lan Zhan?” he sounded stunned, “Is everything all right?”

“I made dumplings,” he blurted out, “on the weekend. There were too many.”

Before he could regret it, he placed the wrapped box on their table, shoved it over and snatched his hand back into his lap. Wei Wuxian just blinked, glancing between him and the box, before his eyes widened.

“Wait, you mean, these are for me?” 

He nodded curtly. Wei Wuxian’s face immediately twisted, and Lan Wangji’s gut followed swiftly after.

“Hey, it’s just a bad day. I’m always going to find something to complain about, you know that! I couldn’t!”

“I want you too.” He tried to push, and Wei Wuxian pushed back.

“Of course you do - you’re a good person, Lan Zhan, really one of the best! But come on, I’m not going to eat your lunch just to make myself feel better! For all my brother goes off, I’m not _actually_ an asshole.”

“I brought them for you,” he finally screwed the subtlety, nodding at them.Wei Wuxian paused, a surprised look to his face and Lan Wangji felt his stomach try to gnaw itself to pieces. Oh, _fuck_ , that was way too obvious, way too deliberate, if he was really dealing with an S-Rank ghoul then he’d essentially given himself away-

“R-really?” there was a small tremor in Wei Wuxian’s voice, and Lan Wangji dreaded what it meant, “For me?”

He nodded, even more curt, not trusting himself to speak clearly.

Wei Wuxian stared at the box, then at Lan Wangji, then back to the box.

And then his entire demeanour brightened up, radiant smile filling his face.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! You really are the best of the best!” he declared, deftly unwrapping the box and revealing the small arrangement of vegetarian dumplings within. Without so much as a nose twitch, he reached in and popped one in his mouth.

He chewed.

He swallowed.

Lan Wangji ever so slightly straightened as he paused, shoulders shaking, head dropping forward, trying to spot a gag reflex. Wei Wuxian’s head snapped up, eyes shining.

“You made this?”

“Mm.”

“You, as in _you_?”

“Mm.”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian shook his head, incredulous, before pressing his palms together and bowing to Lan Wangji, “Lan Zhan, Lan Wangji, this one is honoured to be blessed by your benevolence. Your dumplings are so fucking good - bland, yes - but just,” he made a chef’s kiss, before quickly popping another two into his mouth, “best dumplings I’ve ever had, and my Shijie knows how to make them too, so I don’t say that lightly, but seriously, _fuck_ , I’m about to meet God, these are amazing.”

Lan Wangji sat back, flattered and by no means just a little perplexed.

“. . . Good.” He managed to get out, watching as Wei Wuxian fished out some more, “You should use chopsticks.”

“It’s fine - I can’t be stuffed going back down all three floors just to reach the food court.” Wei Wuxian dismissed, before continuing to extol the wonders of Lan Wangji’s cooking skills.

Internally, Lan Wangji was having a fierce debate. It had been terrible weather, and he’d only seen a glimpse. Silver eyes were rare, but not unique. The face itself wasn’t clear, and it was all too likely that he’d seen the silver and his brain had constructed the most familiar face he associated with that eye colour in order to fill in the blanks resulting from the poor conditions. Wei Wuxian couldn’t be a ghoul. If he was, he’d have to be either the greatest actor in the world, or a full-blown masochist, to be so visibly enjoying human food. And vegetarian food to boot! The lifestyle furthest from a ghoul’s choice. 

(He had mentioned it being bland though)

“Is the flavour unsatisfying?” he suddenly asked, a little upset by the thought of Wei Wuxian finding something wrong with his cooking. He had lied about their origins, had not just happened to have made extra but had in fact gone home and made these special for Wei Wuxian, and the thought that he had done something wrong was a little upsetting.

Wei Wuxian blinked, before waving his hands, “Oh no, no, they’re delicious! I just prefer spicier things! Like, way spicier. That’s just a me thing, so not you.”

“Oh?”

“Like, hm, have you ever been to a Lotus Burger?”

Lan Wangji nodded, “Once.”

That had been a fiasco.

“Yeah, and you know the ultra-spice volcano mix?”

“. . . Mm.”

“That’s like, just spicy enough. Normally I like a bit more to get that perfect balance.”

Lan Wangji stared. The last, and only, time he’d encountered that burger was when he had agreed to grab something to eat with his brother and Nie Mingjue, all three of them still up at 3am on a particularly brutal case, and Lan Xichen had asked to try some of his partner’s burger. The small bite had ended with Lan Xichen in tears and the CCG’s Director and highest ranked Investigator putting all of their not inconsiderable athleticism to use in sprinting to the nearest convenient store and buying five litres of milk.

That was ‘ _just_ spicy enough _’_?

Lan Wangji was suddenly concerned about his friend for an entirely different reason. Wei Wuxian snickered.

“Yeah, I get that look a lot. Not my fault the majority of mankind’s taste buds have all the fragility of a flower.”

Or yours have the strength of reinforced titanium, Lan Wangji internally corrected.

Nevertheless, Wei Wuxian had, however unwittingly, proven his innocence. Lan Wangji had been agitated whilst hunting, and made his own error in judgement, completely not the fault of his friend. Relief, deep, soothing relief, flowed through his veins, and he finally allowed himself to relax and enjoy his lunch break.

(No one else could know that song)

For the first time in his career, he ignored his disquiet instincts.

That night, as he walked into his and Lan Xichen’s apartment, he was greatly surprised to see Nie Mingjue on the couch.

He deftly put his hands together and bowed.

“Director Nie.”

“Hey, hey, none of that, I’m off duty, Wangji,” Nie Mingjue waved a dismissive hand, “Xichen invited us over for dinner. That’s cool with you?”

He nodded, realised the implications of that comment and swiftly made his way to the kitchen.

Lan Xichen was frowning at something that looked like it wanted to be eggplant and garlic and was instead looking black.

“Brother.”

Lan Xichen didn’t jump, because his brother never jumped, but he certainly spun guiltily.

“Ah, Wangji, I thought you were going to be at uni late tonight.”

“My last lecture got cancelled,” he waited expectantly. Lan Xichen smiled at him.

“I could help-?”

“Please let me do it.”

Lan Xichen sighed, gave the stovetop one last mournful look, and handed over his position to his younger brother.

“One day, I am going to make something right.”

“Please don’t push yourself.”

“Did you just get thrown out?” Nie Mingjue leant over their kitchen island, grinning at his partner. Lan Xichen sighed, a bit ashamed.

“It’s a little embarrassing - I can run for four days straight without tiring yet can’t last two minutes in a kitchen without my own little brother shooing me away.”

“It’s okay, Xichen-ge,” Nie Huaisang appeared at his brother’s side, beaming, “I can’t cook for shit.”

“Why do you sound proud about it?” his older brother retorted, irritable and Nie Huaisang shut his mouth.

Lan Wangji, meanwhile, gave their kitchen a thorough once over, pulling out the salvageable ingredients and spying the chicken on the counter, probably brought by the Nie brothers, and making a mental note to cook it separately.

As he was foraging around their sauces, he found the leftover dumpling dough, and he pursed his lips, internally stewing over the idea. The other three chatted idly as he quickly set about the kitchen, pulling the chicken into strips to grill, softening vegetables in sesame oil and salt, and making a small filling on the side.

They did look up as he coughed, carefully working his way through deseeding the few chilis in their fridge, the smell clogging his sinuses.

“Wangji?” Lan Xichen came over surprised, “You’re making spicy food?”

“On the side,” he answered, cagey, “For a friend.”

Lan Xichen blinked, before his eyes widened, “Oh, you’re using up the rest of the dumplings from yesterday! How did he like them?”

He dipped his head, hoping his brother didn’t notice the red on his ears.

“Oh, that’s for Wei-xiong, then?” Nie Huaisang realised, before turning to stare critically at the dumpling filling over the rim of his fan, “You should add more chili.”They all stared at him, even Lan Wangji, in the process of stirring his frying vegetables. He’d already put in _four_ chilis. Nie Huaisang raised his shoulders defensively.

“No, seriously, his spice tolerance is _inhumane_. We once dared him to have raw chili and he just walked straight over to the nearest supermarket, bought a giant red chili, and came back. Then this fucker just looks us straight in the eye as he bites clean through it - seeds, core, skin and all. Not one flinch as he finished the thing. I’ve never felt more intimidated in my _life_!” he turned dramatically to Nie Mingjue who just scoffed.

“It was probably just a dud.”

“Yeah, we thought that too, so we each had a bite and I swear to god, I sweat more just from that than I have for the past year.”

“Not hard, considering your lack of gym attendance.” Nie Mingjue snarked once more and his younger brother rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious, Da-ge, this kid’s spice game is fucking insane. He’s got the taste bud fortitude of a quinque, I swear.”

Even the loosest mention of work had that same small stone in his gut rolling. As he divided up the vegetables and rice, adding the grilled chicken to the Nie brothers’ portions, he swallowed slightly.

“Brother . . . is it possible for a ghoul to eat human food without trouble?”

Lan Xichen paused, surprised, exchanging a glance with Nie Mingjue. They all migrated to the table and Lan Xichen just frowned, deftly picking his way through the brisk dinner.

“Well, no. Their enzymes can’t process it - the only way to remove human food is to throw it back up or wait for time to quite literally decompose it within their systems - both ways make them violently ill.”

“I’ve seen a ghoul swallow food without pulling a face or bringing it back up,” Nie Mingjue inputted, “but the days following? It was like their entire system crashed, every bit of energy devoted to pushing this huge blockage through. The ghoul was sick for a week.”

Lan Wangji swallowed and Lan Xichen gave him a concerned once over. “Why are you asking? Is everything okay?”

He nodded, “A case.”

“Do we really need to talk about work?” Nie Huaisang whined, yelping as his brother cuffed him across the back of his head.

“Why are you complaining, you just sit amidst a bunch of gadgets and do shit all.”

“I take offence at that comment.” Nie Huaisang mumbled, “Lan-xiong, your cooking is really good, by the way.”

The conversation swerved away from talk of work towards more routine matters and Lan Wangji’s query fell by the wayside.

As according to the rules, Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang habitually filled the conversation between themselves as the Twin Jades stopped speaking whilst they were eating. Right when Nie Mingjue was in the process of quite seriously discussing that he could _definitely_ take on a kangaroo, but he might have trouble with a bear, Lan Xichen’s phone rang. His expression shifted when he checked the caller ID.

“Go on, Xichen,” Nie Mingjue nodded and his partner smiled, gratefully, holding the call until he had reached the edge of their main room, probably planning to talk in his room.

“Sorry, you caught me during dinner, A-Yao . . .”

Lan Wangji blinked in understanding, and his old classmate immediately zeroed in on the micro expression. Lan Xichen’s voice dulled out as his bedroom door rang shut and Nie Huaisang spared no time in rounding on him, leaning forward over the table in interest.

“Who?”

“A-Sang . . .“ Nie Mingjue glanced down warningly and his brother had the audacity to look guilty for something he most definitely didn’t feel guilty about. Lan Wangji just exhaled lightly.

“Meng Yao. They met at the library five weeks ago. He was reading Brother’s thesis.”

“Oh, _that_ guy,” Nie Mingjue scratched his chin, “yeah, he’s brought him up once or twice - apparently they’ve been to a couple of art fairs since.”

Nie Huaisang glanced up, faintly betrayed, “Wait, when _I_ go to fairs it’s ‘a frivolous waste of good time’, but it’s _fine_ when it’s Xichen-ge?”

“That’s because Xichen deserves breaks - you’re never doing anything _but_ taking breaks.”

“Mm.”

“La-Lan-xiong, please don’t agree with him.” He vanished behind his fan and Lan Wangji just turned to the other Nie.

“The missing people?”

“Nothing,” Nie Mingjue’s expression turned grave, “I have ears across the whole city and we haven’t found a scrap. I basically forced Xichen to invite us over - we’re all going a bit stir crazy at HQ. Oh, and I know you just cleared a case last week, but I’ll have another one for you tomorrow. A nasty one up in Yungchuan labelled the Lamplighter.”

He nodded curtly and Nie Mingjue sighed.

“Sorry about all this.”

He nodded once more, “It is for the public.”

A hand came down atop his head, stroking through his loose hair, “Don’t push yourself.”

Lan Xichen sat down beside him, and he sent his Brother a very scathing look at such blatant hypocrisy. Lan Xichen just smiled innocently.

“Tea, anyone?”

The next day, Wei Wuxian did not look violently ill. If anything, the sight of more dumplings just made him positively shine.

“Lan Zhan is too good to me!” he announced happily, grinning as he also accepted the chopsticks Lan Wangji had retrieved for him this time. “Is there any special occasion this time . . .?”

His eyes widened as he chewed, eyes lighting up, “You made them spicy!”

“. . . Experimenting.”

“How are you this good at cooking?” Wei Wuxian just murmured reverently, “Seriously, do you need a job? Any money whatsoever? Because I’ll get you hired at my restaurant, immediately. You make me free samples during shift, I get you a job, it’s a win-win situation.”

He frowned, “Are you that desperate for food?”

“Well, maybe not desperate, but I’m certainly _craving_ it. My family has no fucking clue how much groceries cost. Jiang Cheng once genuinely guessed a single banana was worth ¥70 _._ ”

“Is that why you never buy food?” he was being nosier than proper, but he was not one of the greatest investigators in the CCG for no reason.

(Meticulousness was key, and his instincts were telling him to be very meticulous.)

Wei Wuxian, meanwhile, was nodding, “I mean, as long as I have enough coffee, I can hold off eating until after I get home. Or, if I’m shift sharing with Shijie, she tends to make me extra.”

“Unsustainable.”

“I mean, if you think I’m bad now, wait until exams roll around.” 

He sent his friend a very severe look to inform him exactly what he thought of such an image. Wei Wuxian grinned, unrepentant, popping another dumpling into his mouth.

“So, why so much experimenting?” he asked instead, resting his chin on his hand, “You’re not _actually_ considering getting a job at the Lotus Garden, are you~?”

God forbid.

He lightly shook his head, “You said you preferred spice.”

Wei Wuxian blinked at him, a slight crease forming in his forehead, “Wait, you made this whole batch just for me?”

“Mm.”

“A-Ah! Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian sat back and buried his face in his hands. Underneath, a red tinge had blossomed over his cheeks and neck, “You can’t just _do_ things like this! You’re too good, far too good for this one.”

“Wei Ying is the good one.” He responded simply and Wei Wuxian let out another strangled whine.

“Argh, Lan Zhan, _stooop_! My heart! My poor, poor heart! I’ll collapse if you keep up all this flattery!”

He huffed a laugh, pleasantly amused by the image.

Wei Wuxian peeked at him through his fingers, “Lan Zhan, you’re so cruel. Completely uncaring to the things you do to me.”

“Mm. Here,” he picked up another dumpling with his chopsticks and Wei Wuxian dropped his hand to bite it off, a happy, satisfied glow as he happily took the chopsticks and finished the small box.

Lan Wangji just exhaled and sat back.

“. . . Saturday night?”

“Hell yeah,” Wei Wuxian covered up his mouth to hide the food getting chewed behind it, “I have some mid-terms in like, two weeks. I’ll probably spend all next week studying. What are we feeling?”

He blinked, “Your choice.”

“No, no, no, I picked last. Your turn, Lan er-gege~”

He sighed at the coquettish tone, simply thinking for a moment, “A documentary was released recently. We could go see it.”

“Oh cool, what’s it on?”

“The South Pole.”

“You mean I get to see penguins on a big screen? Sign me up, I’m so _down_. Do you have any place in particular you like going? Cos if not, then we could go to this small place down in Yueyang, it’s super cozy and they do good snacks!”

“Mm. It will be a bit early.”

“Cool, we could get dinner afterwards then!” Wei Wuxian chirped, “I could pick you up from work too - how does that sound?”

He let out a hum of agreement, “It is no trouble?”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian drawled, “You work in the largest building in all of Qinghe. It will be fine.”

(It was not fine.)

**[WIFI]:**

_Hey lan zhan (_ ≧∀≦ _)_

_Lan zhan_

_LAN ZHAAAAN_

**[lanwangji]:**

_Yes?_

**[WIFI]:**

_I’m outside, pls come pick me up (_ ；￣ _Д_ ￣）

_Some rando is giving me a lecture and it’s giving me the shits_

_I’m texting each time he looks dramatically about_

_Save me!!!!_

_SOS_

_Mayday!!_

_Err_

_Code Red!!_

_LAN ZHAN I CAN LITERALLY SEE YOU READING ALL OF THESE PLEASE COME HELP ME (_ _ᗒᗣᗕ_ _)_ _՞_

**[lanwangji]:**

_I will come._

He tidied away his laptop and the last of his files, deftly looping his work bag over his shoulder and locking his office door behind him. Ever so slightly curious, he called a lift and travelled down to the main entrance of the CCG.

He blinked.

In the entrance foyer, an entire crowd had been pulled together, workers and civilians gawking at the building standoff. The RC Scanners split the entrance hall between public areas and the areas accessible only to staff and beyond them, Wei Wuxian was stubbornly perched on a visitor’s couch, arms folded, chin in the air and hair in two buns atop his ears.

Su Minshan was scowling at him and Lan Wangji felt his shoulders heave.

He dumped his bag behind a desk, strode out through one of the scanners and stormed over, pushing at the edge of the crowd with all the intent to dissolve it. The first few turned back in irritation, before whitening at the sight of him, quickly drawing back into salutes. The movement caught the attention of the rest and his path was soon cleared by lines of terrified spectators. Su Minshan turned as well, his gaze growing forcefully blank.

Wei Wuxian brightened.

“Investigator Lan,” Su Minshan greeted politely, “I am sorry for the commotion. I am just dealing with a suspect individual.”

“Dude,” Wei Wuxian’s words coiled, disdainful and mocking, “I’m just sitting here. If you think I’m suspect, then I pity your neighbours. You must try to arrest them on the daily~!”

“Why?” Lan Wangji intruded curtly and Su Minshan sneered.

“He is refusing to walk through the RC Scanners.” He sniffed.

(Lan Wangji felt a prickle run up his spine.)

“Obviously he’s-”

“A ghoul?” Wei Wuxian interrupted, “Or _maybe_ , I’m kind of ticked off that some random guy walked up, demanded I do as he says, or be immediately subject to interrogation. Did you treat all your visitors this way? Or are you making an exception for little ol’ me?”

“If you’re innocent, then I do not understand why you’re so opposed to this.”

“Really?” Wei Wuxian pitched his voice, high and condescending, “Then let’s see – you’ve accused me of being a ghoul, of being uncooperative and disrespectful of public order. You’ve said straight to my face that I’m spitting on the work you all are doing here. I might disprove the ghoul thing if I go through – but I’m then confirming the other three. I’m really not. You’re harassing me, and I don’t care how many times you accuse me of being a ghoul, it’s not _my_ business to capitulate to your bullying.”

Lan Wangji felt the stirrings of his temper flare as he turned to Su Minshan.

“Is this true?”

The entire audience, a mix of entertained and wary, all turned to him in shock.

Su Minshan was gaping.

(Lan Wangji was _getting involved_?)

“I . . . of course not!” he blustered, “He was hovering around and when I asked him what he needed, he said he was waiting for someone but refused to go beyond the scanners. It’s regular procedure to assume he was trying to spy on an Investigator! I have our staff’s best interests in mind!”

“Hovering?!” Wei Wuxian was virtually spitting, “I was _sitting_ here, doing _nothing_!!”

“Not regular procedure.” Lan Wangji agreed coolly, ignoring the stunned audience, “Overly aggressive.”

“Thank you!” Wei Wuxian huffed, “See? If Lan Zhan says so, then it must be true.”

The audience audibly gasped.

Su Minshan frowned, glancing between them rapidly. Lan Wangji just extended a hand and Wei Wuxian bounced up, immediately moving closer to cling to his side.

“I am sorry for taking so long.”

“No worries, no worries! I came early.”

“You . . .!” Su Minshan was glancing between them, face growing red.

“I thought,” they all stilled, turning, “that this was the front gates of the CCG. Not an amphitheatre.”

Lan Xichen glided out through the RC Scanners and they all bowed low. At his side, Lan Qiren was seething.

“Shame on you!” he jabbed his finger at the whole crowd, “Idling! Making noise! Disrupting work! How many rules must be broken before sense is returned!? This is a place of public service not your entertainment! Back to work – and so help the fool who I should find lingering, ruining the reputation of our esteemed organisation!”

It worked perfectly. The various Inspectors and employees fled within moments, desperately avoiding being the person Lan Qiren would unleash his anger upon as he stormed after them. Only Su Minshan stayed, cheeks red.

“Vice-Director-!”

“That will be _all_ , Inspector Su.” Lan Xichen cut him off cleanly, smile in place, “I expect a progress report about the Ant before the end of the week.”

“He-!”

“Is a friend of Wangji’s,” Lan Xichen stressed, voice growing slightly more warning, “and Wangji’s instincts are the finest within our institution.”

Su Minshan ground his jaw, but still managed to stiffly salute, marching off and leaving the three alone. Wei Wuxian, still positioned at Lan Wangji’s elbow, exhaled far too dramatically.

“Aiyah, that took way too long. Thanks for the save, Lan Zhan! And, err, Lan Zhan #2?”

Lan Xichen turned, smile growing infinitely more pleasant, “It’s no problem. I am Wangji’s older brother, Lan Huan, courtesy name Lan Xichen. This Young Master is . . .?”

“Wei Ying, courtesy Wuxian.” He kept glancing between them, “So _you_ ’re the older brother, huh.”

“And you must be Young Master Wei.”

Lan Xichen’s eyes were twinkling. Beside Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji sent his brother a stink eye.

“ _Brother_.”

Lan Xichen turned very innocent eyes his way, “You two are heading out?”

“Yeah, we’re going to the movies,” Wei Wuxian scratched the back of his head, “sorry about all . . . _that_.”

“I should think so,” the three of them looked as Lan Qiren returned, appearing very much more relaxed and Lan Xichen thinned his lips slightly in sympathy for whoever had been sent to clean out the archives, “it was mayhem! Absolutely unbefitting this building!”

“Sorry . . .”

“You have no reason to apologise – I will speak with Inspector Su myself later. Though . . . why _did_ you ruffle his feathers so and refuse to pass through?” Lan Xichen intervened, gaze a mix of curious and incredibly amused. Wei Wuxian tossed a loose lock of his hair.

“Well, _originally_ it was because I knew I’d get the whole ‘don’t touch’ spiel and would end up touching everything. Then it was out of spite. He was being really pushy – it kind of made me feel awful.”

Lan Wangji squeezed his shoulders and Wei Wuxian absently pressed up closer to his side.

“Wangji . . .” Lan Qiren glanced between them, squinting and he didn’t need _another_ member of his family on his back about this. Hastily saluting them both, he turned to guide Wei Wuxian to the front doors.

“We will leave now.” He said calmly, ignoring Lan Xichen’s growing amusement and his Uncle’s growing scowl.

Unfortunately, he was interrupted.

“Ah!” Wei Wuxian bounced on his toes, “Almost forgot!”

Before Lan Wangji could stop him, his friend took off, trotting right back where they’d come. He ducked through the nearest RC Scanner without so much as a hum from the machine, scooped up Lan Wangji’s discarded bag and skipped back over.

“You’d be so pissed if you left this behind – aren’t I just the greatest friend?” he beamed. Lan Wangji stared at him.

( _???)_

Wei Wuxian’s smiled tilted, “Lan Zhan?”

“. . . Nn.”

“Eh?? I’m not?!? Lan Zhan, that’s awfully rude! You can’t have that many aside from me! I should be your favourite by default! _Default!_ ”

He took back his bag in one hand, grabbed Wei Wuxian’s wrist in the other and dragged him off with an ever-increasing scowl on his face, Wei Wuxian’s laughter clear in his ear.

(It _didn’t matter_ that all his efforts into locating files about Wei Wuxian’s mother had ended up with nothing but an empty briefcase)

“Ahh, that made me hungry!” Wei Wuxian whined as they came out of the small little movie theatre, even as he still actively picked at their large popcorn, “hey, Lan Zhan, let’s go grab something to eat!”

He turned and blinked, removing the bucket of trash food whilst the other’s attention diverted. “Where?”

“Hm hm . . . you’ve been doing so much treating lately . . . ah, I know! Let’s go over there!”

His whole being brightened up as he pulled Lan Wangji over to a brightly lit up fast food place, ‘Lotus Burger’ emblazoned on the sign attached the building.

(Lan Wangji’s tastebuds mourned in memory of the previously fallen)

The whole food joint was full of families, a few couples, overtaken by the sounds of adults bemoaning the time until their next pay checks and squealing kids fighting over who had gotten the best toy with their burger.

Lan Wangji’s face thinned as he was pulled to the back of the line. “Really?”

“Really! It’s super cheap and I know all the best picks!” Wei Wuxian grinned, “Don’t worry, they do vegetarian stuff too!”

“ _Unhealthy_.”

“Duh, what _other_ kind of food do you get after movie?” Wei Wuxian was still wrapped around his arm, bouncing up and down in line, “ah ah, burgers are really the best after a movie!”

He blinked. “They are?”

“Yep,” Wei Wuxian grinned at him, eyes glinting with oh so familiar mischief, “trust me! It’s when they taste the best!”

“I see.”

“Can I take your orders, sirs?” the girl at the till called their attention and Lan Wangji panicked, having not even glanced at the menu. Wei Wuxian gave his arm a reassuring pat.

“Don’t worry. Leave it to me!” he turned and didn’t even bother looking at the menu displayed above, “I’ll take a medium Summer Garden Burger with a vanilla shake, along with small chips, and then a Double Lotus Burner with extra jalapeños and sweet chilli sauce, a sprite and big fries. Oh, and I want the 75% discount.”

The cashier girl, in the midst of dutifully typing it out, jolted, looking up askance. Lan Wangji startled.

“Wei Ying!”

“That’s no problem right?” he continued cheerfully and she just fumbled, glancing around for a manager. Lan Wangji knew Wei Wuxian was tight on money, but _honestly_ he could just pay-

Wei Wuxian flipped something out of his pocket. A beautiful silver signet ring marked with a familiar lotus motif.

“There should be an option for ‘family discount’!” he pushed her cheerfully, as she stared at the ring, mouth open. And then she brightened before Lan Wangji could intervene.

“Oh, are you Young Master Wei?” she beamed as his cheery nod, “In that case, we have some of Young Master’s Signature Sauce in stock. Would you like that added to your Double Burner?”

“Really? Yes please,” Wei Wuxian grinned, “I didn’t think Uncle had it spread out this far!”

“Of course it is. We use it for eating challenges!”

“You get discounts?” Lan Wangji asked, as the cashier sent through their order, much more upbeat. Wei Wuxian grinned, flipping his ring.

“Obviously - Uncle Jiang _owns_ the whole chain, so of course we get discounts. Not that the health nut that is Jiang Cheng would ever touch fast food, the traitor.”

(He severely doubted Jiang Wanyin’s lack of interest in fast food was for weight loss reasons. Though, it most definitely could be for diet reasons.)

“Your Garden Burger and Lotus Burner, Young Master!” Another worker came out, handing over the tray, beaming broadly as he pushed it across the counter. Wei Wuxian took it eagerly.

“Thank you! Come on, Lan Zhan, let’s find some spare space.”

Lan Wangji gave a polite nod to the restaurant workers, all of whom looked two moments away from yanking out their smartphones for a picture. Wei Wuxian ignored them, pulling him over to a corner two-person table and eagerly biting into food that was actively red.

Lan Wangji inspected his own burger, before taking a tentative bite.

Wei Wuxian grinned around sauce covered lips when Lan Wangji went for a second.

“See~? I know my way around this place. I think I would have died when in Second Year if I hadn’t been able to come here. There’s one right near my place in Yiling - when I first moved out, I think I went there, like, once a day.”

Lan Wangji just continued to silently eat his burger, sceptical eyes looming over the top. Wei Wuxian grinned and continued happily munching through.

(This was fine. He was happy. Wei Wuxian was having fun. His instincts were disquiet for no reason) 

“Hey, you wanna bite?”

Lan Wangji felt his stomach sink.

(Maybe he should have listened to those instincts.)

He glanced between the offensively bright red burger in front of him, nearly finished, and then back up to Wei Wuxian’s shining eyes.

“I shifted the patty out of the way,” he added, proudly.

After a moment of consideration, Lan Wangji leant forward and took a bite.

(Hmm. Okay. Not so bad

Oh

Oh Fuck fuck _fuck hnnn sweet mother_

_gah_

_hhnnnanana_

_AHHHH_

_holy shiiit_

_BREATHE_

_he couldn’t fucking BREATHE his throat was CLOSING he needed a MEDIC)_

“Do you like it?” Wei Wuxian asked blissfully, and Lan Wangji stared at him.

“. . . It’s good.”

“Right?!” Wei Wuxian beamed, finishing the rest in a couple of quick bites and licking his fingers.

“Wash them properly.”

“Aww, come on-”

“Properly.”

Wei Wuxian jutted out his lower lip, and Lan Wangji scowled harder. His friend let out a begrudging moan, painstakingly sliding off the chair and trudging off to the small bathroom out back. As soon as he was out of sight, Lan Wangji inhaled his milkshake for the sweet relief of holy fucking shit the relief _was not lasting the burning was coming back-_

A bowl of yoghurt was planted in front of him.

Blinking, he looked up to find the girl from the cashier in front of him.

“It will help with the spice.”

“. . . I didn’t order this.”

“I know. But we’re legally obliged to provide it to anyone who tastes that sauce without first signing a consent form.”

His taste buds were still crying the next day, at the mere sight of Wei Wuxian happily digging into the spicy curry Lan Wangji had made for him.

“Hey, Lan Zhan?”

“Mm?”

“What are your plans for the semester break?” Wei Wuxian sat back rather dangerously on the plastic chair, their usual floor emptier than usual with most students not bothering to come in when they could be flying home for extra time away from university, “I have _nothing_ to do.”

“Your report for music.”

“Oh right, forgot about that.” He shrugged, “Ah, well, it’s just 3000 words. I’ll vomit it out in a couple of days.”

Lan Wangji sent him a very disapproving look and his friend just stuck out his tongue. Sighing, he returned to his laptop.

“Work.”

“But that’s so _boring_ ,” Wei Wuxian sat forward with a thump, dropping his chin onto the desk hard enough make his coffee thermos rattle and his multiple earrings dance, “I don’t wannna just _work_ for the whole break. We have a week of freedom! We should do something.”

“. . . Hm?”

“Like, I dunno,” he straightened up, eyes shining, “we should totally go to a music festival! There’s gonna be a bunch soon once winter hits!”

“Unsafe.”

“Lan Zhan, that’s the _whole_ point! A bit of good music, food, booze - best way to spend a day!”

“No.”

“Urgh, _fine_ , be boring,” Wei Wuxian sat back churlishly, picking up the rest of the curry and finishing it petulantly.

Lan Wangji sighed, his shoulders falling ever so slightly.

“I cannot speak for next week. But I’m available on Sunday.”

“Sunday, huh?” Wei Wuxian thought it over, chirping right up, “Yeah, I could get a later shift - what do you feel like doing?”

“I picked last.”

“Right, right . . . oh, I know! How about an aquarium?” his eyes sparkled, “There’s this huge place in Lanling that opened at the start of the year! I took my nephew there a while ago and he loved it!”

Lan Wangji’s fingers paused over his keys.

(Lanling?)

“It’s super cool - there’s this whole underground tunnel and a touch pool and they have this really cute seal exhibit that does shows several times a day!” Wei Wuxian rambled on happily, “Not to mention, it’s right near the train station, so we could walk there, no fighting the traffic required!”

Lan Wangji blinked at him and swallowed.

“Sunday then.”

He arrived entirely unarmed. It was, of course, forbidden to take any quinque from the CCG’s vaults when they weren’t working, but it was still standard practice to carry a Q-bullet loaded gun, fully licensed, and even a folded up white coat for the most prepared.

But in Lanling?

(They’d rip him apart out of spite)

It would be fine. The Jin were far less territorial than the Wens (and he wasn’t anywhere near as likely to punch one on sight like a certain Jiang) so even if they recognised his face, they hopefully wouldn’t take advantage of his vulnerability to strike.

Still, after meeting Wei Wuxian at the station, he couldn’t help but hurry them along through the Ward, intent on getting into a public space as soon as possible. Wei Wuxian chattered on obliviously - he was determined to get them in before the evening seal show and thus had no complaints about their rapid pace, occasionally giggling as he blew air clouds ‘like a dragon, Lan Zhan!’

It was only when they were atop plastic seats, huge spotlights over the pool, a crowd around them and piping hot chips in their hands, that he finally allowed himself to relax.

(The seals _were_ very cute. One splashed water right over Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji hastened to throw his coat over his beaming friend)

They wandered through the rooms, Wei Wuxian placing his hands up on the glass just as many times as the kids being shown around by much too tired parents.

(“Who brings their kid to the aquarium at _night_?”  
“The devoted.”)

He obediently remained still for a picture, a sea star beneath his fingers, and then took a secret picture of his own, of Wei Wuxian grinned as he stroked a small reef shark.

Lan Wangji had to be dragged away from multiple exhibits.

(“You don’t have to _read_ all the plaques, Lan Zhan.”  
“Understanding habitat conservation is important.”)

Wei Wuxian stubbornly tried to redeem himself from his performance at the arcade and get a penguin out of a crane machine for Lan Wangji.

(Lan Wangji pulled him away after his ninth attempt failed.)

Overall, they lingered through the overly bright halls for about an hour, before Wei Wuxian started checking his watch and Lan Zhan’s body clock began prodding him somewhat pointedly. They wound their way back to the front, though Wi Wuxian caught them right in front of the aquarium’s entrance.

“Smile, Lan Zhan!” He sang, phone up. Falling into the habit, Lan Wangji shifted up close, taking Wei Wuxian’s waist and pulling them together.

The phone’s camera clicked, Wei Wuxian let out a pleased little hum and they began making their way back to the train station. A perfectly normal hang out.

Something flickered in a car’s rear view mirror.

His grip on Wei Wuxian tightened and any ease he felt vanished in one swift breath.

“This way.” He quickly took a left turn, leading them away from the train station, but back towards a busier street. Wei Wuxian startled, staring at him but walking anyway. 

His head tilted back slightly.

“Don’t look,” Lan Wangji warned, voice as soft as he could make it, and Wei Wuxian stilled, immediately turning to the front.

“. . . Lan Zhan-”

“It is all right.”

A shadow up ahead, lurking beside a street pole. He turned them right.

“Lan Zhan, there’s less people here.”

“I know.”

Wei Wuxian gripped his elbow tighter.

A figure in a doorway turned them left. A glint of red in a nearby window drove them away from the main streets.

He didn’t have his quinque, his gun nor his coat

(He had to protect Wei Ying)

“Lan Zhan, he’s _steering-_ ”

“I _know_.”

The small back road came out at a T-junction and lurking to the left, a single figure dominated the whole path. Its face was obscured by a hawk-like mask.

A Jin?  
No. The Jins always had gold on their masks.

(But why would a ghoul risk hunting in such a huge Clan’s well-claimed territory?)

“Good evening, young masters,” the ghoul’s voice rang out through its mask, “fancy a quick stop?”

Lan Wangji didn’t waste a breath. He turned and sprinted down the opposite way, pulling Wei Wuxian along by the wrist, the lights from the backs of apartments and offices flashing by them with every step.

He stopped when they came upon a dead end.

“Lan Zhan, down here!” Wei Wuxian crouched down beside a metal shutter, fiddling with the lock and hurling it up after unlocking it (and honestly, Lan Wangji should be more surprised that Wei Wuxian could pick locks, but they had bigger worries right now.)

The pair of them ducked under the metal and hurried down the cement pathway. It was an underground parking lot, and they dodged around the boom gates, descending into a room barely two metres high, dotted with support pillars and void of cars. Ahead, a fire escape loomed and they sprinted for it.

The door pushed open before they could reach it and the ghoul calmly strolled out.

Lan Wangji pulled Wei Wuxian’s body behind his, hoping his stance might warn the ghoul not to mess with him. It just looked between the two of them.

“I guess you’re not up for a chat then,” from its shoulders, tongues of red and indigo fire kindled, two prickly wings forming a moderate sized _ukaku_ , “ah well. Just gets my job done quicker.”

Its _ukaku_ shot forth projectiles, the flame like substance of the _kagune_ crystallising into a substance stronger than diamond. Instead of striking them, the volley landed true and the fire escape crumpled in on itself upon the collapse of its walls.

Slowly, the _ukaku_ shifted forward, turning aggressive.

“Wei Ying, stay back.” He spoke softly.

The nails at his elbow dug in.

“. . . Lan Zhan?”

“Get to the street. Call the CCG.”

“Lan Zhan-!”

“You are not needed here!!” his voice was harsh as he reached back, caught Wei Wuxian’s hoodie and threw him back towards the ramp out of the car park. In that same moment, he sprinted sideways. The ground behind him thundered, cement splintering as the _ukaku_ shards split it apart like glass.

It was an ukaku wielder, so his priority should to close their distance.

A sprint in was thus required.

_[Without a kagune or a quinque, a ghoul’s body would render it impervious to all damage save for injuries directed towards their face and kakuhou]._

He dodged a punch and drove his knuckles into the ghoul’s mask. A loud swear echoed out as the beak shattered inwards, blood splashing against his hand and across the shattered parts of the mask now hitting the ground.

“Son of a _bitch_ ,” the ghoul hissed, finger smearing the blood coming out from its nose, now visible mouth tilting up into a grin.

“I am Lan Wangji,” his breathing steadied as he stood firm, “Special Class Investigator for the Commission of Counter Ghoul.”

The ghoul stiffened, before letting out a chuckle, “Oh I get it - you’re a dove. Let me guess, you off’d some poor sod, and now their partner’s paying money to get you and your boyfriend dead in revenge-”

He was cut off as Lan Wangji’s foot drove itself into the centre of his face, further damaging the fragile cartilage of his nose and eyes, the only delicate part of a ghoul’s body.

As the ghoul stumbled back, he drove the palm of his hand right into its chin, sending it stumbling back.

“Why should I care what a monster thinks?” he asked, voice icy and the ghoul spat, _ukaku_ flaring up.

“God, I hate doves,” it spat, cracking its nose back into place. Lan Wangji dove to the side, rolling away as the ghoul kicked off the ground, soaring through the air within a breath, body twisting through the air as it repositioned. At that speed, if he got hit by one of those nails, it would be no better than getting shot by a gun. He ducked behind the nearest pillar, dropping to a crouch as a monstrous amount of force slammed clean through the support pillar. He rolled free from the rubble, up onto his feet and sprinted away from the ghoul as it skid across the cement, grin wild. A sidestep brought him safely behind another pillar, though when that one when went down, he hurled himself to safety, as the ceiling between the two ruined supports came crashing down. The ghoul came through the rubble, and Lan Wangji threw himself backward.

The _ukaku_ flashed.

He bit back a curse as a shard slammed into his jacket sleeve, driving back and sinking into the nearest surface, nicking the edge of his arm in the process.

Warmth began pooling around the pinned limb.

Exhaling he reached over to yank it out, but another sunk clean through thigh, a third getting his shoulder.

His blood dribbled down onto the cement by his feet, each drop splattering.

The ghoul laughed, flexing his _kagune_ , “Well, that wasn’t too bad now, was it? You lot aren’t really that big a deal problem without all your zombie tech. Hey, here’s a thought! Why don’t I leave you there too bleed out whilst I go gut your little boyfriend~?”

Lan Wangji kept his chin high. For all intents and purposes, he didn’t appear to have heard a word. The ghoul blinked, lips pulling back in a snarl.

“Arrogant dick.”

It crouched low, looming like a vulture as the _kagune_ fanned wide in preparation to strike.

And then it was interrupted as Wei Wuxian appeared from behind one of the pillars and slammed a chunk of rubble into the side of the ghoul’s temple.

“Wei Ying?”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” the student chanted, voice tight, as he ran past the stunned ghoul, reaching up and yanking out the _ukaku_ shards pinning Lan Wangji’s arms, blood splashing free and all over Wei Wuxian’s hands, “ _fuck_.”

“Wei Ying, I told you to _run_.”

“Not without you,” Wei Wuxian fervently shook his head. In the artificial light of the carpark, his face was thrown into stark vividness, hair completely loose and clinging to his sweaty neck and forehead, silver eyes wide and tense, “we’re going together.”

“I can fight him.”

“Really? I sort of got the _opposite_ impression!” Wei Wuxian shot him down, pulling Lan Wangji’s injured leg tight against his body, “We’re getting out of here!”

A faint groan echoed behind them and they both spun around to watch the ghoul get back up, the huge bloody dent in its head fixing itself.

“Little _shit_ ,” it cursed, grinning, “I’m going to enjoy shredding you piece by piece.”

Wei Wuxian’s nails dug into his arm, silver eyes wide.

“. . . You’re not hunting,” he mumbled, voice soft, “you’re actively trying to kill us.”

Lan Wangji frowned, glancing down in surprise. It only grew as the ghoul chuckled agreeably.

_(“-paying money to get you and your boyfriend dead-”)_

_How did he miss that?_

“Yeah, I have no idea who you two pissed off, but you sure won’t live long enough to regret it.”

The _ukaku_ throbbed, growing in size, veins of red rippling through the trembling wings.

Lan Wangji straightened up, stepping in front of Wei Wuxian, ignoring the pain in his bleeding leg.

“Get to safety.” he ordered.

“No.”

“I said go!”

The shards hardened, rippling through the liquid _kagune_ like overturned sequins, the volley aimed at them.

Fingers gripped around his sleeve.

“Lan Zhan, he’s going to _kill you_. Please, let’s _run_.”

“ _Go!_ ”

(He could not dodge that head on)

(But if he could give Wei Wuxian just a few moments . . .)

“Aiyah, aiyah, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian mumbled in his ear, _not_ listening and _not_ getting to safety, “. . . you really are the best of the best.”

In that same moment, a force equal to a small engine yanked hard on the back of his collar. He gasped as he was sent backwards, skidding into the nearest cement wall.

“Wei Ying, be careful-!” he paused, voice catching, as he finally took in the sight before him. Wei Wuxian, without a care in the world, pulled off his hoodie, absently chucking it towards the cleaner part of the parking lot. The ghoul was watching him carefully, perplexed by his courage. Wei Wuxian cracked his neck slightly, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he began stretching out, side to side.

“Well come on then! You were so happy when you were trying to kill my best friend! What’s with all this suddenly hesitant shit?”

“What . . .” the ghoul was sniffing, utterly perplexed, “what the _fuck_ are you?”

Wei Wuxian paused in the middle of twisting his now bare arms, a weary sigh dragging at his shoulders.

“If I had a penny for every time I heard that, I would not need a part time job.”

“Wei Ying!” Lan Wangji pulled himself up, wincing. The white coats were more than just an ostentatious uniform, they were designed to absorb the levels of blunt force all members of the CCG were exposed to. Any human subjected to even a weak ghoul’s raw strength could be downed immediately, and he was definitely winded from the attack.

But it couldn’t have been the ghoul before them who had grabbed him.

He gave a cursory glance around, but they were completely alone - no flickering light, no moving shadows. No partner hiding out of sight to ambush them.

Wei Wuxian let out a light little chuckle, cracking his knuckles, back fully to Lan Wangji.

“Well. No point wasting time.”

He pulled back his bangs and the ghoul startled backwards with a cry. In that moment of distraction, Wei Wuxian easily moved to its side, crossing the hangar within a single blink, catching the ghoul’s arms and snapping the elbows cleanly. The ghoul howled, and its _kagune_ flared out, a desperate wing beating action that Wei Ying lightly ducked under. Dodging the deadly organ, he quickly drove his heel into the side of the ghoul’s waist and kicked it straight down. The ghoul’s scream echoed around them as he was sent hurtling through the concrete, rubble tearing up behind him, only stopping as he collided with a wall.

_Ukaku_ shards fired out from the resulting dust cloud and Lan Wangji startled forward.

Wei Wuxian’s shirt shifted, and the shadows around his feet seemed to move. Too fast for a human eye, every single one of the _ukaku_ ’s projectiles were struck out from the air, dark tendrils lashing out from around Wei Wuxian’s waist.

_(How? How?!?!)_

Wei Wuxian lightly walked forward, his _kagune_ dancing across his torso like a writhing mess of snakes, each tendril immense, thin and inky black. It was clearly a _rinkaku_ , yet there was more than six . . . ten . . . a dozen, at least, coiling, spiralling and twisting over each other in the limited space, distorting the very shadows at his feet, as if he were walking in a cloud of darkness.

A lone tendril stretched up and over Wei Wuxian’s shoulder to caress his cheek.

The ghoul was staring up at him, aghast, immediately dropping to the ground in kowtow.

_“_ I . . . My Lord . . . this one begs forgiveness for his disrespect! I didn’t know! I didn’t know it was you!”

“Well, duh, I’m pretty careful with this,” the ghoul let out a pained cry as one of the black tendrils shot out, impaling his right leg and dragging him out of the rubble.

Wei Wuxian flung him up high through the new hole in the ceiling in one smooth motion. As the ghoul tried to twist to defend mid-air, Wei Wuxian just chuckled, crouched and _jumped_. With the strength and speed no human could compete with, he shot straight up, tendrils bared offensively around his body as four coiled out and around the ghoul’s wrists and ankles, whilst another two sunk into the support pillars dotting their surroundings to keep Wei Wuxian aloft.

The ghoul let out a feral growl, _ukaku_ twisting desperately, trying to sever the _rinkaku_ binding him. Wei Wuxian just let his head fall to the side, a pout on his mouth as a seventh tendril just snapped forward, coiling around the _kagune_ ’s exit point and began to constrict.

The ghoul howled as the blooming _ukaku_ was crushed clean off, the _kakuhou_ reflexively pulsing in surprise to the sudden exposure, as Wei Wuxian tipped forward, dangling upside down and the four tendrils keeping the ghoul aloft began pulling.

Lan Wangji regained his footing just as the sounds of torn joints echoed above, hands and feet torn off and blood splashing down below to the concrete, the white shine of exposed bone vivid in the artificial light.

The ghoul screamed as he dropped like a stone, smashing back first into the ground with a crack. Wei Wuxian followed him, placid, pillars around him groaning with each new tendril striking in, to lower Wei Wuxian to the ground. He didn’t even bother setting down his feet, simply balancing atop three tendrils shifted into the floor. Like this, he paced forward, body rocking casually with the uneven movements of his _rinkaku_ , coming to rest above the dent caused by the ghoul’s fall.

With morbid precision, four more tendrils speared what remained of the ghoul’s limbs, hauling it up off the ground. The spare tendrils twisted together into one and Wei Wuxian relaxed back, perched atop his own _rinkaku_ like a personal throne.

“You _do_ know this is Lanling Jin’s territory right?”

“Yes, yes, yes, of course-!”

“And you know that killing doves without the permission of the Jin,” he crossed his fingers together, “is strictly forbidden~?”

“N-no! This one is an ignorant man! I didn’t know! I swear I didn’t mean to offend you!”

Wei Wuxian let out a hard scoff. “You just attacked my best friend. You’ve done a lot more than merely offend me.”

Another tendril curled up, stroking over Wei Ying’s neck, before positioning itself above the man’s skull, hardening to a razor point.

Wei Wuxian rested a hand against his fist, “Bye bye~”

“Wei Ying, wait.”

The ghoul let out a pathetically relieved whimper as Wei Wuxian paused, glancing back over his shoulder. Lan Wangji almost flinched as he limped over, eyeing the single burning red _kakugan_ visible through Wei Wuxian’s bangs.

“What’s up?”

“We don’t know why he targeted us,” he managed to get out past his scattered thoughts, “we should not be so hasty.”

“Oh right. Haha, Lan Zhan, you’re so smart!!”

In a single movement, every one of his extended tendrils retracted, blood spraying free from the punctured limbs as he dropped to his feet. His _rinkaku_ pooled together into a single swirling mass, fanning out behind Wei Wuxian’s back, an immense cloak of shadows distorting his feet. The ghoul struggled up where it had been dropped into its own blood, immediately prostrating.

“Oh, Patriarch, thank you! _Thank you!”_ __

_“_ I’m not doing you any favours for free,” Wei Wuxian folded his arms over his chest, “Answer Lan Zhan or I’ll show you how ruthless I can be.”

“Of course! Anything!”

“Why did you try to kill us?” Lan Wangji asked curtly, coming up on Wei Wuxian’s left side, trying to ignore the burning red eye beside him.

The ghoul swallowed, “Nothing personal, I swear. I just got an anonymous message that two college students would be passing through here. It came with a generous tip. As long as I killed them, I’d get the rest of the money.”

They both startled and glanced at each other.

Lan Wangji only refrained from double taking due to his lifelong culture of manners. Wei Wuxian’s _kakugan_ was startling enough.

But even more peculiarly, his right eye was still a pool of silver, bright and wide and oh so human.

_(HOW?)_

He swallowed, and focused on the larger issue, “We’ve only been planning to come out here for less than a week.”

“I didn’t tell anyone aside from Jiang Cheng and Shijie,” Wei Wuxian mused, tapping his chin. At the mention of the Jiang’s heir, the ghoul let out a small whimper, “but, we did organise it at the Tavern. Anyone could have overheard us mention a route.”

“Mm,” Lan Wangji turned back to the ghoul, “who sent you?”

“I don’t know, sir, it was anonymous, like I said,” the ghoul mumbled out, “it, err, I guess was two nights ago? I got back to my apartment around seven, my neighbour’s milk had spoiled, it was raining-”

“Enough,” Lan Wangji glared at the ghoul and it proceeded to shut up.

Wei Wuxian scratched his nose, “Hey, who do you work for?”

“I . . . I just said-”

“Not who sent you this thing specifically. Who do you normally work for? Or do you always take anonymous contracts?”

“No I . . . I work for,” he hesitated and both men glared at him. Wei Wuxian’s _rinkaku_ pulsed like a heartbeat, eager and barely reined in. He went white, “Dusk Creek Laboratory! I work in the Dusk Creek Laboratory!”

Wei Wuxian frowned, “What the fuck’s that? I’ve never heard of it. Lan Zhan?”

“Nn.”

“It’s in the Qishan ward, north side!” the ghoul blurted out, “It’s a secret! Please, you can’t tell anyone, if the Wen Clan finds out I said anything . . .”

“Don’t worry about it,” Wei Wuxian sent a questioning glance Lan Wangji’s way. He nodded, happy that they had gotten everything they could, and his companion turned back, smiling cheerfully, “the Wen Clan won’t be able to do anything to you.”

“R-really? Thank you, my Lord, thank you-!!”

It was abruptly cut off as three inky tendrils impaled its skull, heart and _kakuhou_. It only twitched for a few heartbeats before crumpling once more to the ground, this time never to get back up.

“Have you truly never heard of it?” Lan Zhan spoke as soon as the body stopped moving. Wei Wuxian shook his head, heterochromatic eyes wide and honest.

“Nope.” He dragged his fingers through his hair, “Urrgh, if this guy really is a Wen stooge it’s going to be a pain.”

“No one else is here,” Lan Wangji sighed, “the only people who can see us is us.”

“I guess so. Still makes me uneasy,” Wei Wuxian suddenly startled, holding up three fingers, “Oh, and I um, already knew you were a Special Class Investigator, but this one hasn’t told anyone! Promise!”

Lan Wangji turned properly towards to him, incredulous, “You _knew_?”

“Yes, yes!” Wei Wuxian nodded fervently, “Jiang Cheng reminded me about the Lan Clan’s position in the CCG. Oh, but I swear I haven’t let that affect our friendship!”

Wei Wuxian finished with a confident nod, eyes earnest, as if _that_ was the thing Lan Wangji would be most concerned about. As if a _ghoul_ casually befriending a CCG Investigator in full knowledge of his career, whilst keeping his own nature secret wasn’t a mildly life-threatening activity and he’d known Wei Wuxian was reckless, but _really_.

But.

“How?” he asked, unable to keep out the faint vein of fatigue, “My cooking . . .”

“Oh, it’s really good,” Wei Wuxian beamed at him and Lan Wangji stared at him, incredulous. His companion blinked before startling and letting out a faintly embarrassed ‘ah’, “you meant, how can I eat it, right? Haha. That’s because I’m not a ghoul.”

Lan Wangji stared at him, stony faced, before deliberately turning his gaze to the monstrously large _rinkaku_ still writhing around their feet. Wei Wuxian flushed, and the tendrils hurriedly broke up their bonds, disintegrating away back into his _kakuhou_ , his _kakugan_ fading away to match the other silver eye.

“Okay, so um, promise not to freak out?” Wei Wuxian pressed his hands together, turning genuinely uneasy and Lan Wangji frowned, nodding. When had he given Wei Wuxian any evidence that he might do so? Wei Wuxian nevertheless let out a relieved sigh, before sidling up close, gaze furtive.

Against his better judgement, Lan Wangji also leant in.

“See, I’m not a ghoul. But I’m also not a human. I’m both. And neither. It’s dumb.”

Lan Wangji stared at him, brow slowly deepening into a frown.

Wei Wuxian flushed, scratching his nose. “Umm, so, I’m what’s called a One-Eyed Ghoul. I’m half and half.”

“. . . _What?”_

Wei Wuxian shrugged, a trace more flippant, “My parents were apparently pretty kinky.”

His parents. So . . . that meant . . .

“Mum was a ghoul, a pretty powerful one I’m told. And my dad . . .”

“was a human.” He recalled from his investigation. No wonder he’d never found any details on Wei Wuxian’s mother. A ghoul? and a _human_? He couldn’t even contemplate how that must have gone.

Wei Wuxian blinked. “Eh? How’d you know?”

“. . . A reasoned conclusion. Based on this conversation.” he bullshitted, straight faced.

“Oh, right. Duh.” Wei Wuxian brightened up, grinning and Lan Wangji just blinked when faced with the good cheer.

“I . . . I have never heard of it before,” he mumbled, and Wei Wuxian shrugged.

“Wouldn’t expect you to - we’ve looked all over, but I’m the only one as far as I can tell.”

“. . . Do you still eat . . . ?”

Wei Wuxian stiffened, a trace self-conscious, “Umm. Technically both works, but regular food sort of doesn’t do the job. it’s like the human equivalent of only ever eating junk food. If I just stick to it, I feel all bloated and end up sleeping for hours so yeah. I, um, eat humans. Too.”

It hung between them.

Wei Wuxian dropped his gaze away, shoulders bunching up and fingers twitching together.

Lan Wangji slowly clenched and unclenched his hands.

“You hunt-?”

“No!” Wei Wuxian flinched as Lan Wangji’s glare turned icy, throwing up his hands defensively, “Sorry, for interrupting, but no. I don’t hunt. I’m a scavenger.”

As Lan Wangji’s eyes narrowed, he quickly waved his hands. “It’s when we eat from people who are already dead! We find bodies that no human could ever find and take what we need. I don’t kill anyone I’m planning to eat!”

“. . . Then have you killed humans?”

Wei Wuxian blinked, gaze lowered.

“. . . I have. When I’m with my siblings. But no one innocent! Anything I’ve killed has always deserved it, I promise!”

“Truly?”

“I’m a full time student, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes, exasperated, “if I had the time to go and be a psycho serial hunter, I would spend it getting another job.”

Lan Wangji just rolled his eyes and turned to the dead ghoul at their feet.

“So.”

“Huh?”

“What should we do with it?”

“Oh, this guy, right.” Wei Wuxian frowned, face scrunching up cutely, “Ideally, neither of us want to openly deal with him. If he’s a Wen, then they’ll be pissed at whoever claims the kill . . . I could eat him?”

Lan Wangji just turned and stared at him. Wei Wuxian burst into laughter.

“Yeah, that’s a dumb idea. Oh wait!” He pulled out his phoned and called one of his speed dial numbers, holding it up.

He held up a finger to his lips, gesturing for Lan Wangji to step back a bit, as the phone rang.

“Hi Shijie!” he beamed, “Ah . . . haha yeah, the aquarium was fun! I have a bit of a situation - some Wen guy tried to jump me . . . mm, I’m fine! Don’t worry! But could you come help this poor shidi of yours out? . . . I don’t want to make trouble for the Clan again if I get caught trying to hide it . . . thanks, you’re the best, Shijie!”

He ended the call with a beaming smile, turning to Lan Wangji.

“Jiang Yanli is coming?” he asked and Wei Wuxian nodded.

“Mhm! Shijie lives in Lanling, so she can get here quick! Err, but we might need to split here - things could get awkward if we have to explain why you’re with a corpse killed by my _kagune_.”

Ah, yes. He can’t imagine the divinely exalted Shijie would appreciate a member of the CCG knowing about her little brother’s true nature. Still though, he felt like the matter was decidedly unresolved.

“I cannot take this up with the CCG, nor you with the Jiang Sect. As you said, the Wen Clan would not appreciate it and their political connections would have the matter be buried.”Wei Wuxian nodded grudgingly, but a sly grin spread over his face as he picked up on where Lan Wangji was leading, “Buuut, two people acting independently can do whatever they want?”

He nodded.

“I will need to get free time from my brother.”

“Sounds good - I’m wasn’t going to be doing anything outside of work this week, so come find me whenever. Ah, here’s the address of the Lotus Garden,” he held out his hand and Lan Wangji obliged, handing over his phone for Wei Wuxian to quickly thumb in his workplace’s address, “so I’ll see ya around?”

“Mm.”

He was now well used to the feeling of the end of their outings, when they just had to split up and leave, but it had been a while since it felt this awkward. Admittedly, normally, Wei Wuxian wasn’t standing guard over a dead ghoul, blood soaking the ground and the back hem of his shirt slightly tattered from where his _rinkaku_ had erupted a bit too enthusiastically.

All of a sudden, Lan Wangji didn’t want to be here. With one last nod, he turned and veritably fled the parking lot, not looking back at the One-Eyed ghoul.

“Brother?”

Lan Xichen glanced up from their dining table, his removal from the HQ courtesy of Nie Mingjue. It was technically past nine, but the CCG had little respect for curfews, their most senior investigators and captains working well past midnight - and that wasn’t even including the nights that they were actually out hunting. Normally, Lan Wangji would set aside his free time to help out his brother as best he could - the benefit of working alone meant that he didn’t have a squad to commit his time towards and could instead lighten Lan Xichen’s load whenever possible.

Unfortunately, he had something else to do tonight.

Lan Xichen took one look at his face and closed his laptop, concerned.

“Of course, Wangji. Is something wrong?”

“Could I hand over my case?”

“You’re currently working on the Lamplighter case, yes?” Lan Xichen frowned, “Has something happened? Are you stuck?”

“No. Another case has presented itself - but I’m not certain if it quite qualifies as such. However, I do not wish to reflect my remaining work.”

Lan Xichen smiled at that, “Of course. I’ll get that reassigned immediately. Send your notes through to the archive department as soon as you can.”

Lan Wangji nodded, and his brother folded his hands, concerned, “But about this other case . . . do you want backup?”

“No,” he hoped it didn’t sound too quick, “I am only seeking to make some inquiries - additional numbers will only be more conspicuous. If this is something small, I do not want there to be a fuss, but I will need time to make that decision.”

“Of course, Wangji, do what you think best,” his brother nodded, slightly wide eyed, “I trust your judgement and your battle sense. I know you dislike backup, but, still, if possible, at least report back to me when you can. It’s dangerous if you go missing with no one knowing your location nor your target.”

He bowed, properly saluted, and then retreated to his own room. Sending through his previous notes on the Lamplighter took him barely any time, and whilst he felt a small degree of irresponsibility to be neglecting the victims of such a case, he couldn’t help but go through Baidu, absently shrugging off the outer coat he'd used to hide the dried blood on his clothes.

_[Dusk Creek Laboratory]_

Nothing.

He drummed his fingers against the desk.

_[Wen Corp Laboratory]_

_[Qishan Laboratory]_

_[QishanWen Laboratory]_

_[Secret Laboratories]_

_[Ghoul Laboratories]_

With very search, he only grew more perplexed. If he got any results, it was just conspiracy blogs, all wildly off topic and void of research, the kind bored adults made when they failed at a career and had to do something else to feel worthwhile.

His phone buzzed.

**[WIFI]:**

_[everything got sorted out!_

_shijie is, once again, the best (_ ♥ _ω_ ♥ _*)_

_and don’t worry! i didn’t say anything about you!_

**[lanwangji]:**

_Ok_

**[WIFI]:**

_[haha, don’t go drinking vinegar, lan zhan, you’re the best tooooo!!!!!_

_sorry that our outing got ruined_ (*╯-╰)ノ _!!!!_

_Next time, I’ll definitely get you that toy!!]_

Lan Wangji paused, despite himself.

_Next time._

Would there be a next time?

He had started these . . . outings ( _not_ dates) because he had presumed Wei Wuxian hadn’t gotten the chance to experience them growing up, a human trapped amidst ghouls.

But that was wrong, wasn’t it? Wei Wuxian was a ghoul - or enough of one to fit right in, so was there really a reason to this all?

( _But Wei Ying always had fun.)_

Wei Wuxian had never been bored or uninterested. Everything they’d gone too, he’d been wholeheartedly enjoying. So maybe, even after this, they could still continue to hang out together? If Wei Wuxian had always come, as a ghoul, it must mean he had enjoyed both Lan Zhan’s company and their hang outs enough simply as they were. Surely that wouldn’t change.

The thought of _not_ getting to spend any more time with Wei Wuxian was oddly suffocating, anxiety clenching his gut in a manner that it normally never did.

He gripped his desk quickly. No. He had priorities. Someone had been ordered to kill them, _specifically them_ , and that someone was a worker from a laboratory that all knowledge insisted wasn’t real. They needed to figure this out and _then_ they could discuss the matter of their continued friendship.

_Friendship._

Lan Wangi sat back, exhaling. He had never really had friends. His entire childhood had been a mix of training for his future in the CCG, and getting the high marks expected of a Lan. There really hadn’t been a lot of time for social activities. Now, he was wallowing in a chair, genuinely conflicted over how his friendship _with a ghoul_ might be affected.

He was friends with a ghoul.

He was friends with an individual who had openly confessed to preying on humanity.

His phone was still buzzing.

**[WIFI]:**

_lan zhan?_

_lan zhaaaaan?_

_boo why radio silence_

_are you that upset about the toy?_

_lol, baby lan zhan_

_no no no i didn’t mean that, lan zhan is mature and smart, no joke_

_lol i see you’re still reading this_

**[lanwangji]:**

_It is nothing. I was distracted. I am counting on you_

**[WIFI]:**

_oof_

_why you gotta be so nice_

_my heart_

_my poor heart_

_dying_

_i’m dying lan zhan_

_take responsibility_

**[lanwangji]:**

_Ridiculous._

He switched his phone off and ran his thumb over the screen, warming relief in his chest. He was still friends with Wei Ying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 baby!  
> Good job to everyone (and there were a lot of you DAMN) who guessed WWX was a One-Eyed Ghoul!
> 
> LWJ's thoughts; a summary: ????????????????
> 
> Also - ¥70 ~ $10  
> JC: it's a banana, how much could it be worth? $10?  
> WWX has a Bad Habit of eating human food in front of ghouls who have irritated him because he knows it grosses them out
> 
> Sometimes I feel like Tokyo Ghoul is this huge crater of angst and I'm walking on a tightrope over it, trying not to fall in. 
> 
> I would also like to deeply thank everyone who commented last chapter - my family moved house this week and everyone's been super stressed, so y'all being so supportive of this fic really helped me deal. Thank you all so much xxxxx


	4. I merely don't want to hurt you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have added to the tags!! please check!!

He was delayed - his Brother’s workload was only increasing, the entirety of the CCG was on red alert and having a freer schedule just ate up his free time. It was only by Thursday that he finally finished his work early and drove over to Yunmeng, which, he could grudgingly admit, was indeed very beautiful. Mostly reclaimed land from the lakes, the whole Ward hugged its lotus filled waters, over which the Lotus Pier, the richest part, spread out across wooden walkways, mansions constructed on the manmade islands dotting in between.

Lotus Garden, the crown jewel of the Jiang Family’s food empire, occupied a prime position overlooking the edge of the lake and it was with no little degree of awkwardness that he walked into the family restaurant two days later, a carefully closed up satchel thrown over his shoulder. The various patrons paid him no mind and a server took one look at him (and his face) and immediately led him over to a small private table, away from the noise of the crowd.

(He was being watched.)

The lady drinking coffee up at the main bar. The two waitresses wheeling around the dessert trolleys. The barman, wiping down a beer glass. He’d just stepped into a lion’s den carrying what might as well be a ‘free food’ sign around his neck.

“What. The actual fuck. Are _you_ doing here?”

He looked up and nodded politely, “Good day, Jiang Wanyin.”

“Get out, you stalker.” The ghoul snapped at him, pure rage written all over his face, but it wasn’t a particularly new expression for him so Lan Wangji didn’t so much as blink. And then Jiang Cheng was being yanked back by his purple collar.

“Oi, oi, how many times do we have to say it? You don’t interact with the customers, Mr. Forever-Frown-On-Your-Face.”

_“Wei Wuxian_ -!!“

“It’s fine,” Wei Wuxian shoved his adopted brother away, grinning, “leave it to this shixiong! Go go, the Madam’s calling for you.”

Jiang Wanyin pointed two fingers at his eyes then jabbed them Lan Wangji’s way before stomping his way back behind the ‘staff only’ door.

Wei Wuxian just flipped his hair, turning with a grin.

“Sorry about him - Jiang Cheng still hasn’t figured out how to experience positive emotions.” He grinned wide, the expression taking over his whole face, “So have you put in your order?”

Lan Wangji, in the furtive process of scanning the menu, had to double-take.

“Put in?” He tilted his head to a large desk on the side of the restaurant. “Is it order at the counter?”

Wei Wuxian blinked, “No? Just on your phone?”

Lan Wangji glanced down at his phone in confusion before glancing back up. Wei Wuxian’s face fell, his lips twitching.

“Um. Lan Zhan. Have you ever ordered using a barcode?”

“I only eat out at restaurants during family events and functions.” He replied calmly, and Wei Wuxian looked like he wanted to either laugh or burst into tears.

“Ah . . . ahaha, Lan Er-Gonzi, the lives of the rich sure are intimidating.”

“My family is not rich. We are comfortable,” he responded, a bit perplexed by the comment and Wei Wuxian stared at him.

“Did . . . you just said . . . did you just say the Line? Actually, you know what, never mind, here.”

Wei Wuxian leant down next to him, quickly pulling up one of the many apps Lan Xichen had downloaded onto his phone and talked him through scanning the table’s barcode and selecting his choices through the menu.

“You like pretty mild things, right? Errr . . . here, this one only has our mildest sauce. And here! this is a really good milkshake! Also, _my_ favourite is this soup, which has pretty much got no spice!”

He selected Wei Wuxian’s suggestions, staring as he leant in closer to show him how to send it through to the counter.

“When do you get off shift?”

He was an experienced ghoul hunter and knew what volume wouldn’t reach even hypersensitive ears. Wei Wuxian didn’t so much as blink.

“About an hour.”

“You are still free after?”

“Well, I was only planning to get started on my assignment, so yep!”

“. . . Don’t you still have to write 3000 words by the end of the week?”

“Bold of you to assume I haven’t written 3000 words in a single day before,” Wei Wuxian tapped his phone and straightened up, “and there you go! Your order will be about fifteen minutes!”

With that, he cheerfully bounced off to the other tables, delivering and clearing plates, tidying up spills and making any screaming children soon gurgle happily at far more appreciated volumes, both for their parents and the other patrons. Lan Wangji watched, with no shortage of amusement, that the of few gazes that had been sizing him up, most had now turned away, trying not to catch Wei Wuxian’s eye.

His tofu was spicy enough to bring up a sweat, but sure enough, the soup was burn free and the milkshake relieved any excess pain.

(He wondered how many times this company had offered the drink to the patrons with milder palates)

The hour passed relatively quickly, as he took his time enjoying the admittedly very good food, yet he could almost feel eyes burning into his back, and every time he looked up, he was met with the retreating back of Jiang Wanyin. For an accountant, he seemed to spend an awfully large amount of time in the front area, despite the visibly uneasy glances he received from the nearby patrons. Though, to be fair, Lan Wangji suddenly realised in a tidal wave of hindsight, he too would probably hover if he learnt his brother was spending time with a man who, for all intents and purposes, would kill without question.

“Lan Er-Gonzi?” he managed to not flinch, but it was a mighty effort, eyes darting up to find soft eyes watching over him.

Jiang Yanli, the Lotus Bride, another one of the few ghouls powerful enough to walk around with both her identities known, smiled down warmly, “A-Cheng said you and A-Xian are going out after this?”

She was beautiful, in the ethereal way that all female ghouls tended towards, that sort of delicate prettiness that could turn sharp all too quickly. Her hair was pinned back with a lovely jade lotus pin, and her earrings, pure gold with flawless amethysts dangling at the ends, swung with each tilt of her guazi-shaped face.

“. . . Mm.”

“DO you mind if I take a seat?”  
He shook his head.

A pleased smile found its way onto her face, and she settled down quite happily. “A-Xian’s been so happy since you two became friends.”  
He ducked his head, oddly pleased himself.

“You know something, Lan Er-Gonzi?” she mused, “My little brothers are so cute~ Sometimes, it’s hard to think of them as adults, you know? I spent so much time keeping them safe from anything or anyone that might wish them harm. It’s quite hard to kick the habit.”  
She pressed her hand against her cheek, the picture of innocent embarrassment, if her eyes were low lidded.

He simply bowed his head respectfully.

“Harm to Wei Ying is unacceptable.”  
She blinked before giggling slightly. “Take care of him please. A-Xian tends to be a bit reckless.”

“I know.” He responded bluntly and she covered her mouth with a fine purple glove, shoulders properly shaking with amusement.

“Hehe, I see. In that case, I’ll be entrusting him to you. Don’t worry, I’ll keep A-Cheng busy.”

He bowed once more, and she responded in kind, before getting and heading back towards the kitchen. She met Wei Wuxian halfway there and whatever he said made her laugh loudly, as the patrons who must be regulars all called greetings. The two lightly high fived before Wei Wuxian passed out his last set of plates, swinging by Lan Wangji’s table.

“That’s my shift - I’ll get changed and meet you out here, yeah? All you do is go up to the counter and tell them the table number.”

“I will wait for you at the door.”

“Yep, yep, sounds good~”

Wei Wuxian positively skipped off behind the staff only door and Lan Wangji dutifully moved up to the counter, scanned his card and was then left to awkwardly loiter in the doorway. He was clutching his closed bag under his arm, possessing enough awareness that carrying his coat and briefcase out in the open was a mild faux pas. It might be his imagination that the man working the cash register was giving it a look of severe distaste, but he was intruded from thinking too hard about _that_ when Wei Wuxian positively latched onto his arm.

Now free from the purple and black server’s uniform, Wei Wuxian had loosened out his hair enough so that the red tufts were visible, and removed all of his piercings, ever so slightly heeled boots clicking with each step. He was not, however, wearing his signature black hoodie with the red detailing. Instead, he was wearing a simple black jacket, zipped up at the front and hanging around his body in a rather baggy fashion.

“Come on, come on, let’s go!”

“Enjoy your date, Wei-xiong!” One of the waiters called and the restaurant laughed as Wei Wuxian sent him a cheery middle finger, dragging the frozen Lan Wangji out of the family’s establishment. The sun was setting by this stage, golden bands dancing over the flowering lake that gave the Lotus Pier its name. Wei Wuxian pouted.

“Urgh, if only they knew. They’d be so jealous if they learnt we were-”

“Quiet.” he warned, and Wei Wuxian paused, before laughing sheepishly.

“Ah, right. I’m not really experienced at this whole thing.”

“You . . . are not experienced . . . at keeping a secret.”

Wei Wuxian had the dignity to flush at that, “A secret, yeah, but not like super secret agent work,” he staged finger guns at the ducks drifting over the lake and Lan Wangji just shook his head, fondly exasperated, before checking his watch.

“Sunset is in thirty-nine minutes - we shouldn’t begin searching until at least twenty minutes after that. Do you have anything you need to do in the meantime?”

“I do indeed~,” Wei Wuxian draped an arm over his shoulders, grinning, “before we go anywhere, you need to come with me!”

He didn’t verbally respond, merely frowning and Wi Wuxian’s grin broadened.

“Hey, you can trust me! This is a _vital_ step. _Vital_.”

Lan Wangji just sighed and nodded, allowing Wei Wuxian to once more latch onto his wrist and pull him along the pier. As soon as he was in Lan Wangji’s car, Wei Wuxian was tapping an address into the GPS, directing them to a more minor Ward. He didn’t stop chattering the whole way, still absently holding Lan Wangji’s arm. Normally, he would have shrugged it off, but the one-eyed ghoul really was like a sun, his mere touch emitting a pleasant warmth and Lan Wangji found himself comfortable with keeping it there for the whole ride.

The sun was still not quite set when they parked, but there was enough of a nightlife waking up that Wei Wuxian kept their hands linked, weaving unnoticed through the swirling rivers of humanity, his route obviously well-rehearsed.

Lan Wangji did, however, pause at the sight of stairs leading down to what was very obviously a bar.

“Alcohol is forbidden,” he pointed out immediately and Wei Wuxian paused to blink at him.

“What is your _life_ , Lan Zhan, _damn_. But whatever, it’s chill, we’re not here to drink. Come on!”

Only slightly less dubious, he nevertheless followed the other down the stairs, pushing aside the door to find a dimly lit bar, full of plush couches and an old wooden deco style, understandably empty considering how early in the night it was.

“Mianmian?!” Wei Wuxian called, walking in with the comfort of familiarity, “Mianmian, you around?”

“Yeah, yeah, you halfa, I can hear you just fine,” the door to the back swung open and a lithe young woman emerged, wrapping an apron around her black work shirt, “you’ve already used up your week’s quota, so what the hell . . . are you . . .”

She stared at Lan Wangji, face slowly whitening, before she snatched forward and dragged Wei Wuxian right up to her face via his hood.

_“What the actual fuck is a Lan Clan member doing in my bar?”_

“It’s cool, he’s with me.”

_“Yes, I got that bit!!”_

“Relax, Mianmian, he’s promised he won’t say anything,” Wei Wuxian mimed zipping his mouth before turning to grin at Lan Wangji, “Right, Lan Zhan?”

He nodded, as sincere as he could manage despite making no such agreement, “Wei Ying and I are cooperating, and have both agreed to not share anything we learn in the interim.”

Wei Wuxian beamed at him.

‘Mianmian’ just gaped between the pair of them.

“Wei ‘Ying’?” she asked, a bit aghast, before her face cleared, “Oh, you’re the stalker.”

“Oi, Lan Zhan’s not a stalker!” Wei Wuxian protested, frowning, “Look, we just need a quick mask - nothing too fancy, and I’ll pay for it!”

“Nonsense,” Lan Wangji had paused at the mention of the mask, but was slightly proud at how quickly he connected the dots, “I will pay.”

“Nah, it’s fine, Mianmian gives me discounts!”

She glared at him, “Hell no, I’m doubling the price.”

He blinked, still beaming, “Mianmian, I think you misunderstood what I meant by discount.”

“Oh no, I completely understood - and stop calling me Mianmian! It’s Maiden Luo to you!!”

“Whatever you say, Mianmian,” Wei Wuxian grinned at her scowl, “so about that mask . . .?”

She glanced between the two of them and sighed.

“I will be charging extra.”

“Aw, boo~”

“Payment for my mental wellbeing.”

“It is alright, Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji reassured him, “I get a budget for each case. This will be covered by that.”

Mianmian just glanced between the pair of them, before sighing and clasping her hands in front of her apron, politely bowing.

“Welcome, Lan Wangji, to my business. Do you have a preference of colour, design or material for your mask?”  
He blinked, slowly shaking his head and she hummed, bowing once more.

“Very well. Please look this way, and hold still.”

He turned obediently and found a tape measure immediately pressed up against this head. He stiffened involuntarily, but Wei Wuxian just squeezed his hand.

“Don’t worry, Lan Zhan, Mianmian’s always places as one of the top ranked crafters in the city. She’s really good!”

“You got a favourite animal Mr Investigator?” she asked from right behind his ear.

He tried not to visibly swallow as a ghoul’s fingers moved some of his hair to check the tape measure was straight.

“. . . Rabbit.”

“Ah, I agree!” Wei Wuxian laughed, “Rabbits are so cute! I just want to eat them up!”

He turned and glowered at his companion, who had seen multiple pictures of his own pets. Wei Wuxian just laughed even harder.

“Don’t look so worried, Lan Zhan!” he snorted, “I won’t touch your bunnies.”

“What does rabbit taste like anyway?” Mianmian mumbled, retreating back behind the counter and scribbling a string of numbers onto her wrist. Wei Wuxian folded his arms over the bar counter.

“It’s like . . . it’s less aggressive than the normal? It’s certainly better than beef and pork anyway. Can I have a jar whilst I’m waiting?”

She glowered at him. “One. That’s it. You drink way too much. What about your friend?”

“I don’t drink.” he responded bluntly, and Wei Wuxian cocked his head.

“Hey, you prefer sweet things, right? Mianmian does a really nice peach mocktail.”

“. . . Mm.”

“You will be paying,” she informed them, deftly making her way around the counter, “I stopped giving you things on the house the last time you cleared out my wine cellar.”

The thought had Lan Wangji frowning.

“You shouldn’t have so much alcohol,” he reproached, and Wei Wuxian blinked at him, before shrugging.

“Yeah, Shijie’s been on my back about it for a while - but what can I say? I have a long and openly trusting relationship with Emperor’s Smile~!”

He brightened immensely as said wine was placed in front of him, soon followed by an elegant golden-amber drink for Lan Wangji.

“Don’t break anything,” was all the ghoul spoke before she vanished out back, unlocking the door with a special key.

Wei Wuxian snorted, sipping the wine, “She won’t take long - for all her moaning, Mianmian really is the best mask maker in the city.”

“Do you come here often?” He asked, morbidly curious. Wei Wuxian shrugged.

“For drinks yeah, but I don’t need to replace my mask that often. It’s not particularly delicate the same way Shijie’s is, for example.”

As if reminded, he reached into his bag and pulled out the very same mask from all those nights ago, the mournful face that had been branded into Lan Wangji’s inner eye. It was almost perfectly black save for the cut away over his left eye, the right eye only painted on in white with a red teardrop working its way down through the black. Wei Wuxian ran his fingers over it absently.

“I only have one eye that can activate the _kakugan_ ,” he mused aloud, “so I have to hide my right eye whenever we’re out. It’s a pain.”

Lan Wangji had shifted his gaze away from the mask, now simply staring at Wei Wuxian’s face. Feeling like a moment had presented itself, he shifted slightly closer.

“What is your name?”

Wei Wuxian frowned immediately turning to him. He gave Lan Wangji’s face a scan, before his eyebrows raised.

“Oh, shit you’re serious? Well, Inspector Lan, this one is Wei Ying, courtesy name Wuxian. I’m twenty-two years old and my star sign-”

“Not that,” he frowned, “You’re . . . other name. We assign codenames to ghouls – your nickname? Title?”

“Oh!” Wei Wuxian went bright red, “Right . . . that . . .”

His voice trailed off, a bit faint, and Lan Wangji frowned immediately.

“Was that too inappropriate?”

Wei Wuxian blinked before quickly shaking his head.

“Ah, no, it’s a perfectly normal question. Where you worried about being rude there Lan Zhan~?”

He glared, but Wei Wuxian continued on before he could respond.

“Yeah, we call them titles. Mine’s just, er, a little embarrassing.”

Lan Wangji waited expectantly. Wei Wuxian turned, saw his expression, and immediately went bright red, burying his face in his hands.

“. . . You know how I live in Yiling, right?”

“Mm.”

“And there’s no Clan in control there, right?”

“Mm.”

“So, um, I’m nominally in charge? As part of the Jiang family, I’m sort of the most influential ghoul there by default . . . and they began calling me the . . . the Yiling Patriarch.”

Lan Wangji blinked. “I see.”

“Noooo, don’t seee, it’s _embarrassing_.” Wei Wuxian whined, burying his face in his arms.Lan Wangji just let out a faint chuckle, “So even you feel shame.”

“Only on rare occasions,” his companion peeked up, lips quirking up, “I’d much prefer something like Shijie’s title though. Even if it’s a bit redundant now.”

“Mm?”

“Well, it was fine for a while, but who wants to be called a Bride once they’re married? She should be the Lotus Queen. Or the Lotus Goddess. Or the Lotus-too-good-for-that-stupid-peacock. I won’t forgive anyone who might insult my Shijie by denying her happy yet-regrettable marriage.”

“Childish,” Lan Wangji observed, and Wei Wuxian grinned up at him, rolling his head over the counter to batter his eyelids.

“Really.”

They both straightened up to find Mianmian had returned, hands on her hips and cheeks puffed up in indignation.

“Right in front of my salad?”

Wei Wuxian stuck out his tongue. She promptly ignored his existence, huffing as she extended a parcel wrapped in cloth towards Lan Wangji.

“It’s just altered from one I’ve already made. I’ve never made a mask for someone without a _kakugan_ though, so maybe check you can actually see anything.”

He nodded thanks, gingerly unwrapping it. There was no denying it was well made - a far cry from the hockey masks and black bandannas that were all the rage amongst his usual feral targets. The backing was a smooth leather, covered in a fine layer of white velvet. Two stiff ears soared over the simple chubby face, curved back to be both aesthetic and streamline. Cautiously, with no shortage of curiosity, he put it on.

Wei Wuxian helped him fasten the strings at the back of his head, and he found himself peering out. Quite impressively, the sturdy part of the mask had significantly large holes cut out over his eyes, with only the velvet shielding them from the outside. The result was a rather decent field of vision, only mildly impaired by the delicate white film over his sight. Wei Wuxian grinned, and Lan Wangji glared as he felt what must be one of the mask’s ears getting prodded.

“So cute, Lan Zhan~”

“How’s it looking?” Mianmian rested against the counter, gazing it over with a professional eye.

He dipped his head. “Good. Thank you.”

“So how many fingers am I holding up?” Wei Wuxian straightened up, waggling four fingers right up in his face.

He smacked them away in favour of answering. Mianmian just laughed as Wei Wuxian whined, before she pulled out a second mask and chucked it Wei Wuxian’s way. Much like Lan Wangji’s, it was shaped like a bunny, yet this one was black in favour of white, ears flopping down instead of up.

Wei Wuxian picked it up, perplexed. “Ah, Mianmian? I have my own mask - I’m not _that_ forgetful.”

“Yeah, but maybe you forgot instead that the ‘Dreaded Yiling Patriarch’,” Wei Wuxian made a faintly strangled grunt and dropped his head to the bar counter, “is pretty well known. Won’t matter if you’re not with the rest of the Jiangs. This will keep you both a bit more anonymous.”

Wei Wuxian puffed his cheeks, before pulling on the mask and turning to Lan Wangji as he fastened the string.

“So how about it, Lan Zhan? Do I look cute?”

He nodded, “Wei Ying is always cute.”

“Pfft!!” Wei Wuxian laughed loudly behind the mask, “What is this slander?”

“No slander.”

“Full slander! I have a reputation - can’t have you being so earnest.”

Mianmian just glanced between them, a vaguely disgusted look on her face. Sighing, she just held out something big and black.

“Take it, and get out.”

“Hm? Ah, Mianmian, there’s no way in hell I can walk in that. I’ll trip.”

“It’s not for you!” she reached under the counter and flung a mixing tool right into Wei Wuxian’s face. He caught it easily, heedless of how it had travelled within a second. “Your dove friend here sticks out like a big white thumb!”

They both blinked at her, and then inspected Lan Wangji’s white trench coat.

“Ah. Yes, that is a good point.”

“Mm.”

“I suppose using a mask sort of defeats the whole anonymity thing if everyone in the vicinity can tell you’re a dove.” Wei Wuxian reached over, plucked the black fabric from Mianmian’s hands and flung it around Lan Wangji’s shoulders. He stiffened up slightly as those fine fingers ran near his neck, his friend adjusting the black overcoat very carefully, tongue protruding in concentration. 

Lan Wangji smoothly pushed his arms through the sleeves and inspected the look.

“So dashing, Lan Zhan~” Wei Wuxian teased, stepping back and nodding, satisfied. Unfortunately, the hem of his white coat was still sticking out the bottom and he frowned, leaning down and preparing to rip off the visible bits.

A hand caught his.

“Ah? Lan Zhan, what are you doing?!” Wei Wuxian asked, audibly distressed and he looked up in concern, “That’s your nice white coat, what are you going to do with it ripped?”

“I have nine spares.”

Both of the ghouls stared at him, and even though the black beady eyes of Wei Wuxian’s mask were a bit creepy, the look of absolute lip curled disdain on Mianmian easily took the cake.

“Ten coats.”

“No wonder they never look dirty,” Wei Wuxian bounced closer, pushing his mask up onto his hair so Lan Wangji could see his shining eyes, “I always thought it was just really good bleach. So, so, so how many coats have you used? Do you have a big coat disposal? Is it a room full of nothing but blood-soaked white coats? If you were to hypothetically draw a pentagram in it using goat’s blood, could you summon the ghosts of every ghoul killed by the coat’s wearers?”

“Oh no. No, no, no,” Mianmian reached down, and yanked him off by the collar, “Please don’t. I don’t want to deal with anymore breaking-and-entering occult bullshit after first year.”

Lan Wangji had to muffle a chuckle as Wei Wuxian immediately whined, pouted entreatingly towards the bartender’s indignant huff.

“You really were arrested for a ghost hunt.” He could feel his lips tugging upwards and, safe under the mask, he didn’t suppress it.

Wei Wuxian turned his rather deadly PoutTM onto him.

“I _know_ , it was just a bit of fun but apparently lighting candles and doing blood rituals to summon demons in abandoned asylums is ‘unsanitary’ and ‘a threat to public order’ and ‘highly illegal’.”

“I’m so glad Yanli-jie didn’t murder me for that one.” Mianmian made herself a double shot of coffee.

“Nah, but Jiang Cheng certainly tried. You done?”

“Mm.” Lan Wangji stood up, hem now hidden beneath the black outer coat, both of them looking considerably more suss with the whole black jackets and masks. “The bill?”

“Oh, right. Here.” Mianmian passed over the scanner, “Also, just for the record, whatever shit y’all are getting involved in, I’m out. I am neutral ground.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Wei Wuxian winked at her and replaced his mask over his face, “whatever you want, Mianmian~”

“Get out. I don’t date fuckboys two years younger than me.”

“Ouch.” Wei Wuxian stuck his chin in the air, before turning and linking an arm with Lan Wangji, “Come on, Lan Zhan, let’s go have some _fun_ without this sour sack.”

“Oh, the pain,” she drawled, as Lan Wangji pocketed his phone, picked up his briefcase and wondered out, “Have fun, boys. Try not to die.”“

“Lan Zhaaaaaaaan” Wei Wuxian whined, swinging his legs, “I’m _bored_.”

He sent him a long look, “Titles.”

Wei Wuxian’s black mask just turned to stare at him, before he dramatically flung himself onto his side.

“ _Whhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiite_.” Lan Wangji sighed on principle, but it didn’t deter the high-pitched whine, “We’ve been sitting on this roof for ages. What are you even looking for?”

“You have sharper ears than I,” he responded, blunt, “I am waiting for you.”

“You’ve _said_ that,” Wei Wuxian continued to roll around on the roof like a grumpy toddler, “but I don’t know what I’m meant to be listening _for._ ”

“Dusk Creek Laboratory.” 

Wei Wuxian made a sound that definitely implied a pout, before slumping back, hands folded behind his head and gaze turned to the night sky.

“You know, White, my hearing isn’t anywhere near a ghoul’s, so don’t rely on it too much.”

He blinked, glancing over.

“Why?”

“I’m a ‘halfa’ remember?” Wei Wuxian drawled, “my body doesn’t have the same number of receptors as normal ghouls - all my senses are dull in comparison.”

“What else?”  
“What?”  
“What else is different?”  
Despite himself, he was curious. Wei Wuxian tilted his head, taking a moment to think.

“Well, I can produce my own RC cells, as well as organise them via my _kakuhou_ – so I have much better regeneration, and my _kagune_ is a lot more extensive. My senses are weaker overall. Err, I can eat both human and ghoul food. Oh, sometimes, if it’s dumb, I go to meetings with smoothies and just obnoxiously slurp them the whole time and everyone gets completely grossed out! Madam Yu thinks I have an attention-seeking problem, but hey, _they’re_ the ones who limited my time around other ghouls, so whose fault is it really?”  
Lan Wangji stared at him.

“. . . Wei Ying, where did you attend primary school?”  
“Oh, I didn’t,” he chirped in response, “Uncle Jiang home schooled . . . me.”

“Wei Ying?”

His partner had straightened, delicately rising to crouch on the edge of the roof, fingers grazing the edge and head up, tilting back and forth in sharp clinical movements. The movement actually reminded Lan Wangji of a barn owl, changing the alignment of its ears to localise the sound.

Wei Wuxian nodded, “Found something – Dusk Creek Metal Art . . . aaaaand I couldn’t get the rest.”

He nodded, pulling up his database and flicking through, government clearance getting him quickly into the satellite maps.

“. . . Here.” He held it up and Wei Wuxian glanced at the phone screen.

“North side, just like he said. That’s right up the mountain itself,” he pressed a single knuckle to the mask’s lip, “ideal for building something underground . . . not that I’d know anything about that!”

His tone brightened as he glanced across, holding up a big thumbs up and Lan Wangji just sighed, and looked back down.

“We should go.”

“Yep, yep, sounds good!” Wei Wuxian bounced up to his feet and stretched out his back, bending and flexing his knees like a runner. That was all the warning Lan Wangji got before the other just calmly stepped off the roof. He jolted, flinging himself forward as the ground crashed from the sudden impact, and Wei Wuxian waved up at him brightly, four storeys without a bit of damage.

Right. Of course.

Sighing, he just found the fire escape.

They kept to the back alleys, knowing their appearance would offer all too many assumptions, following the glowing dot on Lan Wangji’s phone. Despite the somber nature of their task, Wei Wuxian was in a wonderful mood, humming as they strolled along, arm looped around Lan Wangji’s elbow and head tilting back and forth to peer down each alley they passed. It was oddly uneventful though, no ghouls as far as he could see. Normally, he’d have at least expected the distinct red theme of the Wen Clan to have started orbiting, but they were left completely unnoticed, all the way up to the small little artisan shop, placed inconscpicuously at the corner between two streets, customers passing in and out.

Lan Wangji took a step towards it.

“No,” Wei Wuxian caught him, “not the front.”

“Why?”

He pointed forward to the doorframe. Lan Wangji blinked at the familiar ring of metal.

“RC Scanner,” Wei Wuxian breathed, “hidden though. Hey, White, can you set those things to only report a ghoul and _not_ set off an alarm?”

“Mm. Scribe Mode.”

“Okay – ‘cause that dude that just went in? With the leopard print fanny pack? That’s a ghoul.”

Lan Wangji nodded. He knew ghouls were more than capable of picking out their own kind in a crowd, so it would be almost insulting to ask if Wei Wuxian was sure.

“So, the gate’s either off, or on your Scribe Mode. Ideally, we’ll just need to find another entrance,” Wei Wuxian groaned, standing up properly and scratching the back of his head, “let’s hope this place isn’t run by one of those security nuts that have one on each entrance.”

Lan Wangji nodded, yet as they got up and began trailing around the edge of the small block, a question brewing.

“Are you not undetectable by Scanners?”  
“Huh?”  
“You were not ideenified at the CCG.”

(Did theirs need to be replaced?)  
Wei Wuxian quickly shook his head, “Oh, nah, I just had too low an RC count at the time.”  
Lan Wangji stared.

“Well, the Scanners are set to record RC counts of 1000-8000.”  
“That is the full range of a ghoul’s count.”  
“Right, right, but I can drop below – if I’m snacking enough. So as long as I haven’t eaten recently, I can pass below them.”  
“. . . And you have . . . _eaten_ recently?”  
“Two nights ago.” Wei Wuxian looked away, “I eat when I’m stressed.”

“How long do you have to go without eating to remain undetected?”  
“I dunno, like, two months? It’s long enough that a regular ghoul would be getting somewhat crazed. So, it’s almost not worth it. Normally I can avoid them anyway.”

“Is getting blocked . . . common?”

RC Scanners had been a breakthrough in security - the richest places already had one at each entrance, the government installing them in more public facilities like supermarkets, libraries and hospitals. Each gate built was a building safe from ghoul.

A place a ghoul couldn’t enter.

Beside him, Wei Wuxian just shrugged, head turned away.

“Meh, it’s a pain, but they’re still too expensive. It’s only the odd place that gets it now and then it’s not that big of an issue. it’s not like ghouls use hospitals anyway.”

“I see.”

“The only time I was really annoyed was about a year ago? The gym I’d been going to for like, six years, suddenly got two of them, front and back. Because a bunch of sweaty protein drinking humans are _totally_ appetising.”

He rolled his whole head with exasperation and Lan Wangji wondered if the other had become so physically expressive as a consequence of working with a mask over his face.

“Were you upset?”

“Kind of - I mean I was paying that place money for a membership! I had to get it cancelled and lost my deposit!” he latched onto Lan Wangji’s side, and underneath that mask, he was definitely pouting far too dramatically, “This is classism, Lan Zhan. Discrimination against poor students!”

“. . . Nn.”

“Ah, you’re probably right, but it sure feels like it. Maybe I should stop trying to gym and just row, like Jiang Cheng,” he drew up his shoulders, “but then I’d have to admit Jiang Cheng was _right_ about something.”

“Childish.”

“Well, duh! Who could I be childish with _but_ my too-highly strung baby brother? Don’t tell me you never played with your brother! I won’t believe it!”

“. . . Did.”

“Ah, that’s a lie. You really didn’t? Huh, what a boring childhood.”

“I _did_.”

“Oh yeah? When?”

“We trained together.”

Wei Wuxian ground to a halt, black eyes balling into his own, “White Rabbit . . . Whitey-White, my innocent little White, ‘training’ is not ‘playing’.”

He blinked.

“It’s not?”

“Of course, it’s not! Training is something you _have_ to do! Playing’s just fun!”

“Training is fun.”

Wei Wuxian didn’t respond to that, just stared at him for a very long time before tilting his head away.

“Oh, Look a Window!”  
“Black Rabbit, what are you thinking?”  
“We can sneak in there!!”  
“ _Wei Ying!”_

Despite it all, they reached the window, slunk inside the store, bypassing the workers when they occupied themselves with some other customers. The shop seemed to be selling a bunch of different ornamental metal sculptures, workers frequently passing in and out through a back door, a huge warehouse visible beyond whenever the door swung.

Following behind, they spent a few minutes lurking amidst the crates.

Soon enough, their waiting was rewarded. Two men ambled out to the back of the warehouse, entered an open crate, and then didn’t come back out.

“Ghouls?”  
Wei Wuxian nodded. Lan Wangji signalled for them to move and the two crept closer.

Gesturing for Wei Wuxian to stay behind him, he smoothly stepped out into the crate’s entrance, pulling out his gun, finger on the trigger.

The crate loomed, empty and devoid of the two men. Wei Wuxian came up beside him, sniffing lightly. He padded forward, right up to the back, hands trailing along the metal hull. Crouching low, he reached down and lightly pushed against part of the floor. The metal sprang open and Wei Wuxian let out a pleased little laugh, hauling it up as Lan Wangji crouched down beside him.

Concealed underneath lay a manhole.  
“If we head down, it will take us right into the mountain.”  
“It’s probably going to be a nest.” Wei Wuxian warned idly, not sounding the slightest bit off put, rampant curiosity brightening up his voice. Lan Wangji huffed, and kept his gun steady.

“You open it. I will check for anyone below.”  
“That thing silenced?”  
He nodded, and Wei Wuxian laughed again. “All right then. Let’s do this.”  
He easily twisted open the manhole’s wheel, but Lan Wangji doubted a human could have done so, eyeing the grinding metal, before leaning in expectedly as the circular door was heaved up. He gave a full scan of the ground below, before reaching in and carefully lowering his body down. His boots let out the lightest of thumps as he landed, neatly rotating, gun at the ready.

“. . . Clear.”  
Wei Wuxian dropped down beside him. “So professional, White Rabbit!”

He turned and stared, and Wei Wuxian laughed, “Don’t worry. I love a career man~!”

Lan Wangji rolled his eyes and, upon remembering that Wei Wuxian couldn’t pick up that detail, instead grabbed his wrist and pulled him along. They had dropped down into a dead end, the way back up nothing more than steps cut into the wall, and were thus forced down a single pathway, no alternate routes save for the one in front of them. Floor lights dotted the ground, but it was mostly darkened.

“You can see fine?”  
“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian tilted his head, “this place was definitely designed for ghouls. Here, I’ll lead you!”  
Wei Wuxian’s hands wrapped around his and Lan Wangji allowed himself to be pulled along.   
They both jumped as the path suddenly turned to stairs, Wei Wuxian almost tumbling down if Lan Wangji hadn’t gripped tighter.

“It’s gonna be hell to get out of here if they come after us,” Wei Wuxian grumbled beside him and Lan Wangji hummed noncommittally.

“Let’s go.”  
“Yeah, yeah.”  
They began moving down, the chill around them growing as they moved deeper into Dusk Creek Mountain. After ten minutes, the bland cement began shifting, replaced with sheer white walls and smooth tiles. Ahead, the light was beginning to increase.

Wei Wuxian paused.

“Black?”  
“Voices – probably five minutes ahead.”  
“Silence then.”  
Wei Wuxian nodded, and Lan Wangji let go of his wrist to bring his gun back up. Their descent only grew quieter, both straining eyes for the increasingly loud voices up ahead.

“- inspection is taking forever.”  
“Course it had to be our fucking shift. Wouldn’t be so bad if the Master wasn’t such a pedant.”  
“Don’t let him hear you say that.”  
The stairs were opening up before them, two men dressed in all black standing on either side of the exit, lit up by the sterile white lights shining from beyond.

Lan Wangji turned and signalled.

Wei Wuxian danced forward in the same movement that he aimed and fired a Q-bullet straight into the ghoul on the right’s head.

Before its companion could so much as jump, Wei Wuxian grabbed it from behind, one hand over its mouth as the nails on his other hand sliced its throat apart. Lan Wangji fired two more bullets, the anti-ghoul matter in the bullets completely imploding the _kakuhous_ on contact and two corpses hit the ground. He stepped forward to join his companion, both stepping into the light and examining the world beyond.

“Well,” Wei Wuxian chuckled, “I think we found the lab.”

Long white clinical halls spread out around them, frosted glass masking the contents of each of the rooms spaced along the corridor. A few trolleys had been left in the corridor, various beakers and pipettes arranged along them, signage above the doors, safety notices and hygiene reminders lining the walls between each. Various hand sanitisers in holders dotted the walls. He could also be tricked into think nothing was out of the ordinary as long as he didn’t look back to see the two corpses sprawled in front of the stairs that had brought them at least fifty metres below ground. As quietly as they could manage, the two advanced down the hall, ears out for any approaching footsteps.

Idly, Wei Wuxian pushed open a door, and they stared around the darkened room, nothing but a load of benches covered in Bunsen burners and centrifuges.

“Thrilling.” Wei Wuxian drawled, closing the door again as they backed out.

“. . . Black Rabbit.”

“Ya?”

“Can you hear human heartbeats?”

Wei Wuxian glanced around furtively, before pushing his mask up off his face and shaking his hair free from his ears. Closing his eyes and blocking his nose, he began tilting his head back and forth. After a moment, he unblocked his nose and sniffed.

“Nothing,” he shook his head, “all I’m getting is chemicals. Nothing human.”

“Ghouls?”  
“A few of them,” Wei Wuxian pointed ahead, “Most of them are gathered up there and to the left. It’s probably this ‘inspection’ thing.”  
“We will examine that first.”  
Wei Wuxian nodded and pulled his mask back down. Together, they moved through the corridor, a bit quicker now that it was less likely someone would walk out into them. The corridor eventually split into three, two continuing on the lab rooms, the left path leading down another staircase.

“Which one?”  
“Left and middle.” Wei Wuxian scratched the nose of his mask, “I think they both lead to the same room? It could have two levels.”

“Which is safest?”  
“Oh, damn, you’re testing my nose here . . .” he sniffed again, squinting, “err . . . I think they’re below? Don’t hold me to that.”

“Then we will take the middle.” Lan Wangji strode onwards, and Wei Wuxian hurried to catch up.

There were barely any doors, the whole left side instead made of glass, enabling them to peer down over the room beneath them.

A huge delivery line loomed below, conveyor belts, packages, equipment, all being traversed in and out. The huge machinery lay still, however, a huge crowd of scientists all gathered around a single trio, patrolling through and examining the various stations.

Wei Wuxian clicked his tongue irritably.

Lan Wangji turned in question and his companion rolled his shoulders. “The guy in front. He’s a big shot Wen.”

“You know him?”  
“You could say that,” Wei Wuxian made a vaguely disgruntled noise, “I babysit his kid.”

Lan Wangji sent him a long look. Wei Wuxian huffed.

“Look, there are not that many wealthy ghouls – you tend to know all of them to some extent.”  
Lan Wangji thinned his lips behind his mask, but merely turned and examined the movements of the inspection.

“. . . They will be in here for a bit longer. We should examine the third corridor and then leave.”  
“Deal.”

They snuck back out the corridor, and Lan Wangji moved closer to Wei Wuxian’s side.

“Is it likely this involves the Sun Corp.?”

(Is _he_ involved?)

“I don’t know,” Wei Wuxian replied, hesitant, “The Head of the Wen is . . . temperamental. He’s just as likely to endorse or destroy a place like this.”

(Wen Ruohan)

The most powerful ghoul in the city. More untouchable than even high-ranking politicians.

“Surely it wouldn’t be weird for him to have one or two secret places, right?” Wei Wuxian continued, “I’m sure this is a perfectly normal secret underground ghoul lab.”

Lan Wangji hoped his silence conveyed his disdain and Wei Wuxian snickered. They emerged back into the intersection, heading down the third corridor.

Here, the lab rooms continued, and this time, the rooms beyond were lit up, clearly temporarily put on hold for the inspection.

Lan Wangji paused under one that read ‘Prototype Testing’. Upon testing the handle, he fouond it locked.

Wei Wuxian nudged him aside, pulled out some wire and had the lock picked by the end of a minute, gesturing valiantly for Lan Wangji to enter first.

“Master White?”

He caught Wei Wuxian’s collar and yanked him along, ignoring the yelp.

It was no different to the last one they’d seen, save for having drawers open, formulas and fluids spread across the table, likely left to be for the duration of the inspection.

He took out his phone, dutifully taking pictures of each, the camera wired to his computer back home to prevent them being lost if the phone was destroyed.

Growth serum. RC uptake increases. _Kagune_ hardening formulas. Regeneration boosters-

Glass shattered.

He spun, hand flying for his gun, to find Wei Wuxian staring down at a small tray of test tubes containing a clear liquid, one shattered and in pieces beside them, his hand still up as if he’d forgotten he’d even been holding something.

Lan Wangji’s pulse beat harder.

“Black?!” he came over immediately, grabbing Wei Wuxian’s shoulder.

He jumped to find the muscle underneath completely tensed. The cartoonish mask hid Wei Wuxian’s expression but Lan Wangji knew what lay beneath had turned dark.

“. . . What did you find?”  
“Something impossible.” Wei Wuxian shook himself, eyeballing the substance, “It’s probably just my imagination, right?”

He pulled up his sleeve, splashed the contents of another beaker against his wrist and brought it up, tipping his mask up to sniff it. The muscles just grew tighter.

“Black Rabbit?” No response. Lan Wangji felt his gut coil, “Wei Ying?”  
“No,” his friend mumbled, turning and staring around the lab, panicked, “no, no, no, no, this is impossible. This can’t be happening.”

He took off, back out into the corridor, hurrying from door to door, Lan Wangji right on his heels.

“Black Rabbit, what is it?”

Wei Wuxian just kept moving, unclear target pulling him, silent in his focus. Lan Wangji felt his shoulders crawl and he glanced back. The area was still empty, but they were running out of time.

“Black,” he hissed, “we can check again later. We need to go now.”

“I need to check,” Wei Wuxian snapped, “I could be wrong, there’s no way the Wens know how to make it, but I need to be sure.”

“Why?”  
Wei Wuxian didn’t answer, simply pausing at a door with a cry, yanking it open and diving in. Lan Wangji followed and was met with a room full of computers, files lining the walls. Wei Wuxian had beelined straight for the nearest computer. A login was requested, and Wei Wuxian clicked his tongue, irritated. Lan Wangji could barely intervene before he had somehow popped up several windows and began entering long streams of code.

“. . . Black Rabbit.”

“I _know_ we have to go, but I can _find_ this-

“ _Wei Ying_.”  
He grabbed the other’s face and forcefully pulled their gazes together, “I will go through the hard copies. What am I looking for?”  
Wei Wuxian stared silent, before a faintly incredulous chuckle sounded.

“It’s called STS.”

He nodded, promptly crouching down, opening a filing cabinet and beginning to flick through.

“. . . Thanks.”

Lan Wangji blinked, turning just as the monitor cleared and a whole database spread out before Wei Wuxian’s fingertips.

“Unnecessary,” he responded, curt, “we are partners.”  
Wei Wuxian huffed, turning to skim the screen.

Lan Wangji sifted through file after file, combing the cabinets, entire expanses of the wall, no clue what he was looking for, when Wei Wuxian let out a triumphant ‘ha!’.

“You found it?”  
“No, just its storage location. Cabinet 46, Blue.”  
Lan Wangji was moving immediately – he remembered seeing it underneath one of the corner desks. Wei Wuxian was at his shoulder almost as fast, presence heavy as Lan Wangji flicked around various nonsense to find the right file.

Wei Wuxian took it from him almost immediately, flipping it open and skimming through the extensive chemical equations covering every page, ‘STS’ heading each.

“. . . Is this it?”  
“Not quite,” Wei Wuxian muttered, tracing his finger across huge molecular models, “They’ve got bits wrong – the source was unreliable. But it’s enough to work.”  
Lan Wangji nodded, moving to take a picture, but Wei Wuxian quickly shook his head.

“No. The less copies of this stuff the better.” With that, he inspected the file and then deftly ripped all the papers into quarters. “We should burn this.”  
“The room we found it in had Bunsen burners,” Lan Wangji recalled, and Wei Wuxian let out a shaky sigh.

“Yeah, we should destroy that stuff too.”  
“Then let’s go – we do not have a lot of time.” Lan Wangji took his wrist and pulled him out.

“They must be finishing soon.”  
Lan Wangji increased his speed. The stumbled into the lab room and Wei Wuxian made straight for the row of burners, flicking on the gas and hastily setting one up.

“Which ones?”  
“That whole section,” Wei Wuxian pointed out the bench space and Lan Wangji immediately picked up all the vials and beakers, making for the sink. The clear fluid washed down fast, almost faster than water, and he switched on the tap. The end pulled off like a nozzle and he got to work rinsing clean every last bit of glass, turning the tap onto the benches.

Across the room, Wei Wuxian watched as every shred of paper meticulously burned.

Footsteps echoed around the corridors outside.

“Shit, right, let’s go,” Wei Wuxian swept aside the fresh pile of ashes and the pair sprinted back into the corridor, making for the intersection.

They rounded the corner and a whole crowd was waiting for them.

The head of the inspection was standing at the forefront and Lan Wangji inhaled so hard he almost choked on the cold air.

‘Big shot’ indeed.

Wen Xu sneered at the two of them.

“Someone told me two rodents had snuck in, but I almost didn’t believe it.”  
“We’re very impressive, aren’t we?” Wei Wuxian chirped, somehow still sounding upbeat even with a barrier of at least twenty ghouls standing between them and the exit.

Wen Xu (Firelight, eldest son of Wen Ruohan, heir apparent to the Sun Corp, S-ranked ghoul) held out his hand, “Give back the papers you stole.”  
“Hmm~” Wei Wuxian scratched on his mask’s floppy ears, “Gee, I really wish I could, but it might take a while.”  
Wen Xu’s eyes narrowed.

Wei Wuxian’s glee came through proudly in his flippant tone, “You see, it’s sort of in pieces, _staining_ the _walls_!!”

His tone sharpened and the ghouls all tensed, several _kakugan_ lighting up and Lan Wangji prepared to fight, hand itching for the moment to release his quinque.

Wen Xu stared, hand still outstretched, before anger slowly pulled deep scars into his face, “You think this is some kind of joke?”  
Wei Wuxian let out a giggle, dropping his weight down into a crouch, the back of his shirt shifting as his _kakuhou_ began to push out, “Just a little bit.”

“Then I’m sure you’ll find my pet outrageously funny.” The ghoul clicked his fingers and the floor dropped out from under them.

Lan Wangji cursed internally, already trying to right himself up. Above them, there was the distinct thud off the floor slamming back together, and they were plunged into pitch black.

Sparks skittered through the darkness and Wei Wuxian’s cursing echoed liberally around them.

“White?! White, where are you?!”

“Here.”

He jumped as something thin immediately coiled around his wrist, but managed to calm down as Wei Wuxian’s hand appeared at his side.

“Hold on!” the other roared in his ear, and Lan Wangji stiffened as he was promptly twisted through the air, Wei Wuxian decidedly underneath him.

“Black-!!”

The tunnel opened up and they slammed straight into the rock-hard floor of their destination.

Underneath him, Wei Wuxian let out a faint groan and he twisted around, feeling for his friend’s head.

“Ah, White, I’m fine-”

“Your head. Your _spine_ -!”

“No, seriously,” Wei Wuxian nudged him off and Lan Wangji pulled out his thankfully unharmed phone and switched on the torch. He was greeted to the rather lovely sight of Wei Wuxian visibly cracking his spine back into place. He then leant forward and shoved down hard on his mangled leg, pushing back in his protruding femur.

Slowly, but steadily, the tears in his body sealed themselves back over and he pulled off his mask to grin, flexing his arms.

“Takes more than a fall to kill this . . . ah, Lan Zhan?”

Lan Wangji just reached out and crushed the other to his chest. Wei Wuxian was silent for a moment, before he slowly reached up and began patting his back.

“I’m serious, White. I’ve fallen from worse. I can take a bruising.”

“Unacceptable.”

“Yes, yes,” the hand moved up, running soothingly over his head, “shall we take a look at what fresh hell he’s sent us to?”

He tightened his grip for the barest of moments before letting go. Both slowly clambered to their feet and Lan Wangji moved the torch to swing around their current predicament, removing his own mask to see better.

Cavernous. Huge. Natural pillars casting shadows wherever the light touched.

From every surface, drops of water fell onto the ground, all dripping towards a huge pond that had formed on the far side, a lone rocky island poking out of the water.

“We’re right inside the mountain, aren’t we? This is natural rock.” Wei Wuxian huffed, squinting up.

“A prison?”  
“Maybe,” Wei Wuxian glanced around, “but awfully lacking in other prisoners.”

“Escape?”

“Well, I could try . . .” Wei Wuxian crouched low and flung himself up. He caught onto the rocky ceiling easily enough, but as soon as he reached the actual opening of the tunnel, he stopped.

“It’s too slippery – they put something on the walls, and I can’t grip in.”  
“Come down then.” Lan Wangji grumbled, squinting up to watch the other swing himself back down, rather nonchalant.

“Well, up doesn’t work. Any other options?”  
They both glanced over the cavern and Lan Wangji blinked, bending down to pick up a maple leaf.

“Young.”  
“Leaves are getting in?” Wei Wuxian turned, gazing around carefully. “It could be coming up through the water.”

“A gap?”  
“Maybe, but there’s no telling how big or long it would be,” Wei Wuxian scratched the back of his head, “damn, Wen Xu really thought this place out.”  
He was agitated. Unsurprisingly considering their circumstances, but ever since the lab room, he hadn’t stopped fidgeting once. He wasn’t thinking about their current situation.

“Wei Ying.”  
“Hm?”  
“What are the ghouls afraid of?”  
Wei Wuxian paused, turning to look at him with wide eyes. “Afraid of?”  
“Hunting aggression is increasing, long held territories are being abandoned,” Lan Wangji scowled, “right now, ghouls are agitated.”  
Wei Wuxian looked at him carefully, eyes calculating.

“Of course, they’re agitated,” he decided, chirping, “ghouls are going missing.”  
Lan Wangji almost stumbled.

“. . . Missing?”

“Yep,” Wei Wuxian poked at the rocky ground, “it’s been only a few, but it’s been deliberate – the lone rogues no one checks on, or the lower rungs of the huge clans, too big to keep track of everyone. But it’s definitely something systematic. The majority of rogues are fleeing to safety, whilst trying to bulk up their RC stores.”

“Around Qishan?”  
Wei Wuxian stared at him.   
“Humans are going missing too. Far more than ‘only a few’.”  
He didn’t react as Wei Wuxian let out a harsh curse and dug his fingers into the ground, only narrowing his eyes in response.

“That’d be right, wouldn’t it, _fuck_.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji reached down and gripped his shoulder, “What is going on in this place?”

Something creaked.

They were immediately up on their feet, backs together. Lan Wangji carefully swung around the torchlight, coasting over the rocky walls, the stone columns, the various stalactites and stalagmites, the small pond, the island right in its centre-

The island twitched.

Lan Wangji felt his gut coil.

“Hey, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian gripped his wrist, voice strained and eyes equally fixed on the previously still space, “Wen Xu mentioned something about a pet, didn’t he?”  
The water erupted and they both split, leaping behind the pillars for something, as an immense coiling strike slammed into the ground where they’d once stood.

_Bikaku?_

He frowned. No. Too large. Way too large.

“Lan Zhan, get back!!” Wei Wuxian’s voice cut through and he backed up as the _thing_ in the water surged up to full height. The face was half hidden, molluscs and algae grown into the flesh, a body looming well over four metres tall, thickset and more beast than man. He could only watch as that immense tail coiled back, slamming through the water with enough force to send it crashing up along the banks.

“Lan Zhan-!!”

The stone Wei Wuxian was taking shelter behind was shattered as the tail flicked out, probably thicker than a grown man and much, much more agile.

“Wei Ying!”  
He looked in alarm, feet splashing against the spilt water. His instincts screamed and he vaulted back just as the tail came after him next.

A hand appeared at his shoulder and the only thing preventing him from reflexively elbowing its source was the soft hum in his ear.

Wei Wuxian pressed a finger to his lips, and they remained in tense silence, perfectly still. After a moment, the disturbed stones stopped falling, the water splashing and the _thing_ in the pond growling, peering around in agitation.

“It cannot see us.”  
“Probably can’t smell us either.”  
They kept their voices hushed, scarce whispers in the other’s ears. Wei Wuxian sneered.

“Did you see all the stuff on its face? Its nose has probably been fucked for years.”

Th growling grew and Wei Wuxian fell silent, both remaining tense. The overgrown head swept past them, eyes barely discernible without Lan Wangji’s light, but glinting with the distinctive red of a searching _kakugan_.

And then it moved.

They both shrunk lower as the hulking shape h e a v e d its way out from the water, tongues of water rolling with each motion, bulbous nails dripping with algae clawing at the ground. Its challenge roared through the cavern, reverberating through the walls and shaking their position.

Its entire back lit up, a _kagune_ shell long glued to its body, fused by years of decay and muck. The smell of rotted flesh wafted over, fresh and crisp and Lan Wangji swallowed his gag reflex as Wei Wuxian let out a little pained cry, visibly trying to shut it down.

“Calm down,” he squeezed his partner’s hands, “it must be a _kakuja_.”  
“No shit,” Wei Wuxian keened, “but how many ghouls have died to make _that_?”

Lan Wangji nodded slowly. It went without saying.

This cavern was an execution ground.

A hand tightened around his.

“But, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian hissed, growing agitated, “where are their bodies?”  
“Eaten.”  
“Ghouls don’t eat everything-”

“ _Move_.”

They broke apart as that tail lashed forward, striking forward and piercing the ground, the water sloshing together as the monster lumbered closer.

They linked back on its either side.

“You think it guards the exit?”  
“Yes.”

“Do you think we could sneak past whilst it’s out and distracted?”  
“Nn.”  
“Well, one way to check.”  
Wei Wuxian reached down and lightly picked up the first stone from the ground his fingers brushed. Lan Wangji softly pulled them over a bit and then Wei Wuxian hurled it into the far side of the water.

It was a tiny pebble, barely making a splash. The ghoul twisted immediately and any heaviness to its movement fled in a vanish, as it crossed the length of the cavern in a violent dash, tearing up stalagmites in the way as it slammed back into the water.

They couldn’t avoid the huge wave dropping on their heads as it slammed into the deep.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Wei Wuxian huffed, flicking his wet arms. Lan Wangji pushed back his now sopping hair.

“We kill it then.”  
“Yeah, it’s only a giant fucking _kakuja_ that’s probably killed at least one hundred other ghouls,” Wei Wuxian chirped, “no biggie.”

He stood up and his _kakugan_ activated in his left eye, five long tendrils unfurling and twitching behind him.

Lan Wangji reached down for _Bichen_. “Less?”  
“It’s harder to control more.” Wei Wuxian crouched low, bringing his _kagune_ up defensively, “I don’t think we’re going to out-bruteing this thing.”  
 _Bichen_ unfurled, filling the cavern with a gentle blue light. He twirled it, testing his level of fatigue and slotted his phone with its torch onto his belt.

The beast shuddered, angered at finding itself deceived.

Wei Wuxian took off, footsteps the quickest of staccatos over the stone. The beast turned and lurched after the sound, disturbingly fast as it chased the dancing ghoul. It threw a fist and Wei Wuxian jumped, tendrils flipping around to toss his body from column to column, biting into the stalactites to swing him to safety. The beast sunk low, and that immense tail lashed out, coiling through the stone icicles, seeking the one escaping.

In the moment of distraction, Lan Wangji silently stepped out and lunged right for the beast’s back. _Bichen_ collided with the shell in a fountain of sparks, lighting up the points of contact as he flickered the blade across the shell, trying to break through the immense outer layer.

His arm vibration, recoil shuddering his blade, as he struck one of the barnacles grown into the mutated _kokaku_.

No.

That . . . that wasn’t a barnacle.

The beast shuddered, and he stiffened in alarm, only for a tendril to coil around his waist and hurl him to safety just before a tremendous arm smashed his body to paste.

Wei Wuxian dropped them both a safe distance from the waterline, the beast still twisting around without realising they’d fled.

“Thoughts on the shell?”

“Too hard,” he got out through gritted teeth, “ _kakuhou_ inaccessible – we’ll target the neck and joints instead.”

“Yeah, if they haven’t been grown over with barnacles,” Wei Wuxian frowned, and the mention had Lan Wangji’s stomach traitorously roiling, “it’s a _kagune_. We should be able to pierce it.”

“It’s not just a _kagune_.”

“Huh?”

“I found the bodies.”  
Wei Wuxian stared at him, and he watched as it sunk in, second by second.

“Fuck. _Fuck_ , you’re joking.”

“A quinque can’t pierce the back of a ghoul’s skull.”

“ _FUCK_ -oh,” they dodged back from the tail strike, “whoops.”

Lan Wangji huffed.

“Distract it once more.”

“Kay, kay~” Wei Wuxian threw himself forward, whistling loudly, hurling his body back into the air as the ghoul struck. Lan Wangji steeled himself, waited for it to turn its attention to its tail, before silently running onto the shell and making for the neck. In the dim lighting, _Bichen_ lit up the thin sliver of actual flesh hidden underneath the dead layer protecting it. As it struck with its tail, he steadied himself and swung with all his might. The quinque screamed as it sparked against the ‘barnacles’, too thick to reach the sensitive flesh. Lan Wangji grit his teeth in frustration, only to inhale as the beast suddenly lurched upright, sending him flying off its back. It swung around, grotesque hand out to catch him.

And then something was coiling around him, Wei Wuxian was hurling him to safety and the beast just changed its target.

Wei Wuxian let out a strangled scream as fingers wrapped around his body, muscles straining as it began squeezing. His voice rose in pitch, desperately clawing and scratching at the hand, even biting, as his torso began to get crushed.

Sailing through the air, no means to get down, and Wei Wuxian’s screams echoing across each wall of the cavern, Lan Wangji just reached to the back of his belt, and flicked _Wangji_ open.

His second quinque unfurled like a spring, the long glowing cord striking true and attaching to the ceiling, the other end firmly secured to his belt. His body snapped up, swinging instead of falling, and he hooked the end around a stalactite to twist his direction in the air.

Lengthening the cord, he dropped right onto the beast’s wrist.

“Wei Ying?”

“HAnGinG iN HeRe!” His partner screeched, completely white and still weakly scrabbling. The beast growled, realising the second one had appeared, and tried to swat him like a fly. He got a grip on the hard, wrinkled flesh and dropped off, hanging on by a single hand as the beast slapped down where he’d stood, shaking the whole limb. Hefting himself up, Lan Wangji carefully crawled around, circling the wrist until his _Wangji_ had crossed over itself, before stepping back and abseiling to the ground.

A flick of a button and the entire quinque began to tighten. The beast roared, as the thin cord slipped through the cracks to bite into the flesh, but Lan Wangji just grasped the nearest boulder and held tight as the quinque pinched together and severed the hand clean off. The beast screamed, stumbling back as blood poured across the stones, Wei Wuxian breaking off some of the fingers to free himself.

Before he slammed into the ground, Lan Wangji deftly caught him out of the air.

Wei Wuxian grinned.

“My Hero- _urgh_ ,” he rolled to the side, tilting his head down before he vomited up a whole puddle of blood with a groan.

Lan Wangji quickly found his pulse, frowning at its hummingbird speed.

“Don’t worry, Lan Zhan, _gah_ ,” Wei Wuxian spat the last bits outs, wiping his mouth, “my body can fix itself.”  
“You should rest-”

“I’m _fine_ , I promise. I just,” he took a second to swallow with a grimace, “just need a moment.”  
Lan Wangji frowned. “No time. If you are tired, here.”  
He extended his arm, the part of his muscle he was least likely to feel and Wei Wuxian stared at it, confused.

“Eat.”

Wei Wuxian’s expression flickered, before he whitened, “No.”

Lan Wangji scowled. Wei Wuxian had almost been crushed to death, he didn’t care how good one’s regeneration was, that sort of thing had to be taxing.

“I do not mind.”

“Lan Zhan, listen to me,” Wei Wuxian slipped out of his arms, gripping Lan Wangji’s shoulders, “I know that you’re probably risking quite a bit in keeping mum about what I am, so I have no intention of abusing that.”  
He frowned. Risking? He supposed staying in contact with Wei Wuxian, thus keeping Lan Xichen’s attention on him, would be a risk, but he didn’t seem how it might threaten _him_. The only thing he could think of would be if Wei Wuxian’s life was threatened, which he knew instinctively was the worst possible outcome.

Wei Wuxian was still talking.

“-that’s why I promise,” he held up three fingers, “to never such much as bite you. My teeth will not touch your body. Scouts honour.”  
“You were never a scout.”  
“Shijie did a summer camp, so I’m using her honour as proxy.”  
Lan Wangji sighed, before inspecting the beast, still writhing in the bloodied water. One downside of its monstrous physique was that its regeneration had been stunted - a hand the size of a grown man’s torso couldn’t easily restore itself.

“Very well. But you will stay back,” he held _Bichen_ aloft, _Wangji_ ’s grappling hook ready to be fired, “you are too tired for distractions.”  
Wei Wuxian’s eyes glittered, “Let’s slow him down then~”

He crouched low, perched on all fours like a feline, as his _rinkaku_ shifted downwards.

He plunged them straight through the rock, driving them through the underground with enough ferocity to crumple the surface. The ghoul could barely react before eight tendrils shot out from under it, wrapping around its arms and legs and yanking them down low. Lan Wangji was already dancing over the rubble, his pair of quinques at the ready.

“The _bikaku_!”  
“I’m on it!”

A ninth tendril snatched at the end of the immense limb, visibly straining. Another two joined in and Wei Wuxian inhaled with a wheeze. Lan Wangji dashed in a gap and brought _Bichen_ down at the tail’s exit point. Unlike the shell, he sliced through it cleanly, severing the mighty limb in a flash of sparks, RC cells hissing as they were exposed and clearly began disintegrating. The beast roared, trying to pull against the tendrils binding it, and Wei Wuxian cursed as his whole body was yanked down hard enough to crack the stone. Lan Wangji fired _Wangji_ ’s hook, swinging through the air to inspect that neck. He hurled _Bichen_ with all his might, driving the sword right into the protective layer, the tiniest of cracks spreading out from it.

“Tighten!”  
“Go get him, Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian grinned with feral glee, as his whole body tensed and the tendrils all suddenly met the beast strength for strength, dragging it down. It stretched its head up, howling, and Lan Wangji swung around it, over and over, at least five different crosses in place as he landed on the beast’s shoulders and yanked out his sword. The five layers of the cord caught around it all snapped tight, the weakened cracks splintering free and the beast howled as the thin quinque slipped through biting in. The beast strained and Wei Wuxian growled, another two tendrils forming and simply digging into the ground around him to help him hold on. Lan Wangji set his feet and pulled. The quinque shivered against the vulnerable neck, wrinkled and weak.

The beast let out on final scream.

_Wangji_ tore through the neck and the head flung off, falling into the water hard enough to send up a wave, blood arcing across the cavern’s walls.

The shell slowly began disintegrating.

“Quick, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian let out a relieved groan as he disintegrated the thirteen limbs of his _rinkaku_ , “that thing doesn’t need a head. Get its _kakuhou_.”

“I know.”  
He folded his secondary quinque back, wading into the muck with _Bichen_.

(He pressed his hand to his nose.)

Without the shell to hold them together, every victim of this thing began to fall loose, limbs, bones and mashed up skulls tumbling into the water. The beast’s actual back was bone white, pale skin completely hidden from any light and he tried to not gag as he sunk _Bichen_ right into the _kakuhou_.

Beside him, Wei Wuxian gazed over the sea of dead ghouls, expression twisted.

“How old do you think he was?”  
“Impossible to say.”  
Wei Wuxian just shivered in response.

“Let’s go, Lan Zhan. I don’t want to be here any longer.”

The small underwater passage brought them out into an isolated lake on the south side of Dusk Creek mountain, coughing and gasping as water and muck hung about them, the sun thankfully peeking down at the pair.

Wei Wuxian let loose a long groan, lying back and letting his mask slide out of his hand, making a light thunk against the ground.

“We did it. We made it. Urgh I feel _sick_.”  
Lan Wangji just hummed noncommittally, slowly turning to stare at his companion. The pair of them were a right mess, black clothes stained with blood and damp with the water from the caverns. And that wasn’t even starting on the actual battering their bodies had just gone through.

“. . . What now?”

“God, how do I know?” Wei Wuxian let out a tired chuckle, devolving into a grunt partway through, “We need to investigate the Wen Clan, that’s for sure. If they are using that stupid formula . . .”

“What is the formula?” his answer was silence, “Wei Ying?”

His friend tilted his head away, “. . . STS is a surgical serum.”

“What does it do?”  
Wei Wuxian let out an unhelpful mumble, shaking his head.

_“Wei Ying.”_ He winced at how snappish it sounded, taking a deep breath, “We agreed to share.”  
“I _know_ and I will, but that shit’s a whole can of worms and I just _can’t_ be _fucked_ to open it right now,” Wei Wuxian laughed, a trace hysterically, “I just want to go home and sleep for a week.”

“The semester resumes on Monday.”  
“Fuck that,” Wei Wuxian sat up with a heavy sigh, pulling back his ratty hair and fixing his gaze on Lan Wangji, “look, I promise I’ll tell you what it does, but not today. I need to go home and take a shower. You kinda do too.”  
“But?”  
“. . . We should meet up again – before the break ends.” Wei Wuxian visibly thought for a moment, “I can take you to meet some people – they’ll explain it better and might even have info on what the Wen Clan’s up too.”  
Lan Wangji stared at him for a moment. Wei Wuxian wasn’t meeting his eyes, fingering at one of his messy bangs, and mouth thin and uncharacteristically flat. Exhaustion pulled his shoulders down and bruises were beginning to form where he had abused his regeneration.

“. . . Very well.”  
Wei Wuxian’s shoulders hitched up, head glancing across to blink in surprise. And then he smiled, wide and bright and Lan Wangji could only stare in fixation.  
“Thank you, Lan Zhan!!”  
He couldn’t spit out anything before Wei Wuxian was bouncing to his feet, stretching out his stiff neck with a pop and letting out a relieved sigh.

“Ah, then I’ll see you later? Text me when-”

“Wei Ying.” He cut the other off, standing up and clutching his wrist, “Saturday evening.”  
“Works for me! I’ll see you-”

“I’m driving you home.”  
“Huh?”  
He pulled Wei Wuxian along, ignoring his startled protest.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Wangji, I’m tired, _you’re_ tired, you probably shouldn’t even be driving yourself home.”  
“Address.”  
“I’m terrible flattered, Lan Er-Gonzi, but honest, I can get myself home.”  
He paused, turned and caught the resulting stumble from Wei Wuxian, inspecting his exhausted frame sceptically. Wei Wuxian straightened, quickly puffing out his cheeks, emphasising the flattering red spreading across them.

“Come on, Lan Zhan – a _human_ less tired than a One-Eyed _ghoul_? Spare me some face, yeah?”

“I will take the back streets. Address.”  
“You . . . ah Lan Zhan~”

He stiffened as Wei Wuxian pressed right up against him, hands coiling tight around his arm and grin widening, “If I give you my address, I might just get you to take me everywhere. How would that look? A fearsome Special Class Investigator reduced to private chauffeur for this XianXian~?”  
Lan Wangji blinked, unimpressed by the display, “Very well then. Address.”  
Wei Wuxian blinked, fake flirt disappearing in place of surprise, before he absently rattled off an address in central Yiling. Lan Wangji hummed, got a firmer grip on the body pressed against his and dragged him back to the car.

The car ride through the city was surprisingly silent given his passenger, Wei Wuxian more fixated on fiddling with his mask than talking. Lan Wangji felt the itch to speak, a _rare_ itch for sure, but it was all too easy not to speak. Instead he dutifully followed his GPS, pulling up beside a rather drab looking apartment block, a chunk of cement with multiple floors, a scarce and very dead garden the only break in the road leading in.

He switched off his engine.

Wei Wuxian didn’t get out of the car, idly staring out.

“Saturday.”  
“Yep.” He reanimated, reaching into his back pocket, “Why don’t you come meet me here? I’m pretty sure I have a spare key somewhere.”

Lan Wangji waited for him to fiddle through a monumentally disorganised key chain, eventually finding a small little thing and sliding it off the ring. Wei Wuxian pulled one of Lan Wangji’s off the wheel and press the key in, winking.

“Feel free to come over whenever~”  
Lan Wangji didn’t react.

“Wei Ying . . . are you all right?”  
Wei Wuxian stiffened, pulling back slightly. Instantly, anxiety knotted Lan Wangji’s gut as that bright expression shuttered close, Wei Wuxian visibly tucking himself away. Should he have kept quiet? It had been eating him the whole time, but Wei Wuxian wasn’t really one to go into deep talks, so maybe he shouldn’t have pushed. Whatever was going was clearly important, especially to him, and it wasn’t any of Lan Wangji’s business to intrude-

“. . . Not really,” Wei Wuxian whispered and Lan Wangji’s brain ground to a halt at the tremor in it, “I’m angry, Lan Zhan. I’m really, really angry.”

Lan Wangji could only stare as Wei Wuxian dropped his chin, gripping his hands together and flexing his jaw. A tinge of black edged his left sclera.

Lan Wangji reached out, caught his shoulders and pulled him tight against his chest.

Wei Wuxian startled. “Lan Zhan?”  
“I am here,” he promised, “We will solve this.”  
The figure in his arms went still. But only for a moment, as Wei Wuxian wriggled his way around to beam broadly up at Lan Wangji.

“Lan Zhan really is the best!”  
(His ears burnt)  
Wei Wuxian pulled free with a satisfied sigh, hands going to his hips. “Well. I’ll see you Saturday, Lan Zhan. Wear something you don’t mind getting dirty~”  
He pushed open the car door and Lan Wangji blinked.

“You are not going to take a photo?”  
Wei Wuxian paused, already half out the car, glancing back over his shoulder. “Err, Lan Zhan, I’m not really sure that whole mess counted as a fun outing.”  
“Why not?”  
Wei Wuxian stared at him, before a chuckle slowly built, shaking his whole shoulders and head.

“Ah, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan,” he slid back in the car, hauled out his phone and snapped a selfie of the two of them, far more grubby than they usually looked, “smile!”  
(He didn’t like usual, and like usual, Wei Wuxian didn’t seem to care whatsoever)

He bounced out of the car, flashed Lan Wangji one last smile, before turning and jumping far too easily up to the third floor.

Lan Wangji stayed where he was for a few more moments, before pulling out and beginning the long drive around to Gusu.

  
(“Why the fuck was Hanguang-Jun seen outside of your apartment?”  
“He _was_? No _way_!! Where do you hear these things, Jiang Cheng~? _”  
_ “. . . You gave him your fucking address, didn’t you?”  
“Well, yeah, obviously.”  
“YOU LITTLE . . . _hhh_. You’re moving. Immediately.”  
“Fuck that, I like my place.”  
“I’ll tell A-Jie.”  
“Pfft, go ahead, she’ll side with me anyway~”  
“ _I’m going to Kill You_.”)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I present to you, kind readers, this behemoth chapter that came for my soul and wig with its refusal to make me happy with it.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Next week's update is going to be held off, since I'm trying to write something special for Christmas, so I hope that making this one a bit longer makes up for it!!
> 
> JC has circulated the news of Wei Wuxian's stalker
> 
> my poor suffering brain: don't you hate writing action?  
> me: yes!  
> brain: so why did we go with a tokyo ghoul aka action series crossover  
> me: . . . pretty kagune!


	5. in a world that came out of someone's imagination

“Wangji? Wangji?”

Lan Wangji blinked open his eyes and immediately winced as his bedroom lights were switched on. Lan Xichen bent over his bed, his eyebrow arched.

He made a distinctly ineloquent mumble and tried to go back to sleep.

About ten different muscles in his body quickly brought to his attention how much they found _moving_ unappealing and it resulted in another groan.

Lan Xichen sat down on his bed, enough to be ever so lightly be placing weight on Lan Wangji’s legs and effectively garnering a glower from his younger brother.

“It’s unlike you to sleep in.”

Lan Wangji blinked and rolled his head to find his phone.

5.35

He directed his glower at the evidence of his slovenliness instead.

Lan Xichen made a noise that might have been a snort if it wasn’t the elegant Lan Xichen himself making it. Instead of commenting, he lightly bounced up.

“Are you working on your case today?”

Lan Wangji shook his head, half buried in his pillow.

His brother gave his shoulder a pat.

“Excellent. I need some help today - if you’re up in five minute, I’ll have breakfast.”

The door shut behind him and Lan Wangji squinted up at his ceiling lights.

(He deserved a break, didn’t he? He’d fought a monster, because honestly, whatever had been left to grow under Dusk Creek mountain had no longer been a ghoul. Surely that earnt him the right to take a day off?)

He checked his phone again.

No messages from Wei Wuxian, but those never came in before 10am at the earliest so perhaps not surprising. Instead he just rolled properly onto his back.

Saturday

(Tomorrow)

His brother was overworked. He needed help and Lan Wangji could spare it

(He wanted to sleeeeep)

“Wangji?” his brother’s voice echoed out from the downstairs section of their apartment. He took a deep breath, got up, mechanically made his bed, grabbed the first of his white coats he could reach and prepared for the day.

It was not a great day. Every second seemed to be karmic punishment for not choosing to stay in bed.

His back was in agony, the amount of spontaneous nausea implied some sort of concussion and his arms were even _aching_ when he went to lift up the various file filled boxes.

He was fortunate that no one commented on it.

(Oh, they definitely _noticed_ but he didn’t hear a single peep as boxes were deposited in his arms and then secretaries and archivists were off sprinting as far away from the terrifying prospect of Second Master Lan in a Bad Mood)

Ordinarily, he would have expected for the other Special Class Investigators to at least pass through to bother him, but it seemed Lan Xichen spoke truly - the only time he spotted them over the day was when one was coming in to report a case closure, only to head straight out for another stakeout.

And here he was, in his office, acting as his brother’s glorified secretary.

He could afford to take up some cases, ease the load.

(Ghouls were going missing)

In the quiet of the room, he dropped his elbows onto his desk, buried his face in his hands and groaned.

Whatever was going on with Qishan Wen had to be his priority. He couldn’t pick up a case just to cancel it again if something came up with what he and Wei Wuxian were investigating.

_Whatever_ they were investigating.

(STS)

He straightened up and, after a brief moment of hesitation, he searched it up.

Just as many results as the Dusk Creek Laboratory. Which was to say, absolutely nothing.

(“I’m angry, Lan Zhan. I’m really, really angry.”)

His fingers drummed, the mildest of tics, before he dismissed the search window, pulled up more of Lan Xichen’s files and got to work sorting through them, scanning them and copying them into the database before shredding them.

(Wei Ying said he would speak about it. There was no reason to feel apprehensive)

Around noon, there was another knock on his door, and he felt his face fall into a scowl.

Getting to his feet, he glided over. If Su Minshan had one more box of files that he could do perfectly well on his own-

He yanked open his office door and the man - the complete stranger - on the other side simply arched an eyebrow at a face that had once made Nie Huaisang spontaneously burst into tears.

“Can I help you?” he pulled himself together, unable to keep back the curtness.

The man just smiled, somewhat self-deprecating. He was somewhat average, height below Lan Wangji’s, his face and eyes rather non-distinctive.

(Without direction, his thoughts brought two silver eyes to mind. He cut it off as he recalled the way one curled into red and black)

“. . . I think I have the wrong room.”

“Who.”

“I’m looking for Investigator Lan?”

He sighed internally. This hadn’t happened in a while, but inevitable with how similar he and Lan Xichen appeared to those not close to them.

“Elder or younger?”

The other blinked and then his expression cleared.

“You must be Lan Wangji then.”

Lan Wangji blinked at him and hoped his expression told the other to get a move on.

(It seemed to work)

“My name is Meng Yao,” the man bowed, smile polite, “I was looking for your brother?”

Lan Wangji blinked.

“Next level up. The White Office.”

“Then I won’t keep you,” he bowed again, “thank you for your time, Lan Er-Gonzi. Have a nice day.”

He wandered off and Lan Wangji stewed over taking him to his brother’s office directly, before glancing back at the tower of papers he had to annihilate before the end of the day and deciding that Meng Yao was surely smart enough to get there on his own.

He turned back to his desk, planted himself right down in his seat and prepared to not move for four hours at least.

His phone pinged.

**[WIFI]:**

_whoever decided 3000 words essays were a good thing should die_

_also, like, in your excellent opinion, is three sources enough?_

_jiang cheng says its skimpy_

_fuck i haven’t written an essay since second year_

_this subject was meant to be EASY_ ｡゜ _(_ ｀ _Д´)_ ゜｡

_on the other hand tho_

_cute right? shijie got it for me (*_ ≧▽≦ _)_

The long line of text had been ended with a picture of a cup of coffee, inside a mug clearly meant to resemble a bunny. He snorted at the sight of about fifty million pens spread around behind it, along with appeared to be a dirty sock and part of Wei Wuxian’s couch. As he straightened up to text, he almost exhaled as he felt tension seep from his shoulders.

**[lanwangji]:**

_It is indeed cute._

_Work at a desk._

_I used twenty-five sources for the assignment._

**[WIFI]:**

_aw fuck that_

He snorted, set aside his phone and got to work on the remaining cliffs of Mt. Paperwork.

He was about a third of the way through, the clock ticking just over 2pm, when the door to his office opened. His hand instinctively trained towards his stapler, in case someone needed a reminder that they really ought to knock before entering, but it was stilled at the sight of his visitor.

“Brother,” he immediately got to his feet, saluting, “I should be done within four hours.”

“Thank you, Wangji. Seriously.” Lan Xichen squeezed his shoulder, “Sometimes I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Hire a secretary.”

Lan Xichen hummed noncommittally, and Lan Wangji sat down again, waiting for his brother to get to the point.

The Vice-Director just smiled. “You left quite an impression on A-Yao.”

“I am sorry.”

Lan Xichen smiled, a blend of exasperation and fondness, “I think you made one of our newer interns burst into tears.”

He shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time. His brother huffed.

“It’s unlike you to let your emotions run so freely. Is something bothering you?”

He shrugged again.

He’d just woken up in a bad mood.

(He’d spent yesterday fighting against a fucking monster)

And sometimes, working at a desk was not great for dealing with bad moods.

(You know what _was_ great? Spending time with Wei Ying. Which being at a desk actively discouraged)

He couldn’t see Wei Ying.

And with that thought, it was time to derail the conversation.

“Why is Meng Yao here?”

Lan Xichen arched a sceptical eyebrow, but he had always been a Good Sport, and went along with it, settling down on the chair opposite him.

“It’s concerning the missing persons case - he thinks he might have overheard something. Apparently, some of his mother’s former co-workers have spoken to him about their colleagues going missing.”

Lan Wangji straightened, growing serious.

“Is it worth something?”

“I think so,” Lan Xichen exhaled, hand going to his head, “several of them reported the same number plate on a car they left in. And even more have ID’d the same three people.”

Lan Wangji frowned in response. Considering the absolute lack of leads this seemed . . . almost-

“Careless.”

“Maybe,” Lan Xichen glanced away, “or maybe it is just not a place where they need to be discreet.”

Lan Wangji blinked, “People who would not be noticed if they went missing?”

His brother nodded, the faintest traces of indignation coming through, “Yunping street.”

(Ah)

He sighed, closed his eyes and tipped his head up to the ceiling, unreasonably churlish over such thoughts.

“Wangji,” Lan Xichen seemed to think for a moment, cautious, “How is your case going?”His eyes snapped open.

“. . . Fine.” He eyed his brother, hoping he didn’t seem too short.

He failed.

“It’s unlike you to be defensive,” Lan Xichen’s forehead flickered together, curious but not accusatory, “Are you making progress?”

He nodded.

(At least, he hoped they were)

“And you’re staying safe?”

“As much as I am able.”

Lan Xichen inspected him for a long moment, before sighing, “That’s the best you can offer, isn’t it?”

He dipped his head and Lan Xichen squeezed his shoulder.

“If you ever need me, don’t hesitate to ask. Try not to make any more of our colleagues cry before they clock off.”

They saluted, Lan Xichen gave him on last squeeze and then he trailed out the office door, letting it swing silently shut behind him.

Lan Wangji absently sat back down, gaze on the paperwork, but mind distinctly elsewhere.

(For some reason, he sort of felt like this was something he could _never_ ask his brother about.

The thought of Lan Xichen’s reaction, of the disappointment he would no doubt feel . . . Lan Wangji wasn’t quite ready for that.)

Saturday came and thankfully brought with it an immeasurably better mood for Lan Wangji.

He rose at the usual 5 am, had time to make his brother breakfast and even set off for the CCG at the same time as the chronically early Lan Qiren.

He bulldozed his way through the paperwork remaining from yesterday, as well as the stack Lan Xichen had somehow accumulated within twenty-four hours. A chirpy text from Wei Wuxian reminded him of their planned meetup, as well as asking if 4.30pm suited him?

It did, and his mood was positively soaring as he sent a short affirmative reply.

(In hindsight, as another intern fled from his office, it was possible his good mood was more intimidating than his bad one from yesterday.)

He stopped by his brother’s office to confirm the reports had been digitalised, blinked to find Meng Yao there once again, despite the chances of him having gained further insight into the case within a day being minimal.

But it wasn’t his priority so he left the two be, as he ventured off to unpack his very late lunch in the office building’s cafeteria for once, wondering if he should make some extra coffee. 

(He was going to see Wei Ying)

He almost caught himself _humming_ , identifying it as their piece that was beginning to come along nicely.

“Investigator Lan.”

He turned.

Investigator Yao almost recoiled.

“Have you heard the news then?” He forged on and Lan Wangji arched an eyebrow. He was normally thankfully excluded from office drivel, but he supposed his good mood must have made them braver. One of the B-rank Investigators munching their way through some curry straightened.

“Really? It’s been all over.”

“Gossip is a hindrance,” he responded on habit and the B-rank, a man almost twice his size, ducked his gaze.

“It’s not gossip,” this time it was an A-rank Investigators, sitting herself down near the coffee machine with bright eyes, “it could be something pretty big.”

He blinked and waited. She leant over.

“A member of the Wen Clan sent in a _sighting_.”

(. . . What?)

“It’s ridiculous, is what it is!” Investigator Yao huffed. One of the older Investigators, he was pushing forty, which was veritably ancient given his career path. “What are we, Qishan’s Wen clean up crew? I say they can handle their own messes.”

“They just wanted info,” the A-rank investigator shrugged, “Mei-jie in Public Services told me. They’re looking for information about a pair of ghouls who wear rabbit masks.”

It was an effort, but somehow Lan Wangji didn’t crush the mug in his hand.

He hastened his way through his lunch, only dimly listening as they spoke about how an attendant of the huge clan had rung up demanding information on the pair.

“Preposterous!” Investigator Yao had said multiple times, “The Wen Clan’s arrogance stretches too far!”

“But in all seriousness, I’ve never heard of two ghouls like that,” the A-rank grumbled, “don’t you guys in Special Class hear anything? Investigator Lan?”

He paused, to find them all looking at him hungrily. He swallowed down the last of his lunch.

“I have heard nothing. Excuse me.”

He fled the cafeteria, heart pounding, dimly aware of the disgruntled sighs trailing after him.

He found he didn’t quite care.

(The Wen Clan were looking for them)

He forced himself to calm down to think, belonging up the lift to his office and locking the door behind him.

Either Wen Xu presumed they were dead but wanted to know who else they may be connected to.

Or he knew they had defeated the monster within Dusk Creek.

(And they were being hunted)

He felt a moment of panic, before exhaling. His mask was safely wrapped up in his bag - he hadn’t left it lying around once since getting it, lest a cleaner, or worse, his brother, find it. The problem was Wei Wuxian. Was he secure? He’d mentioned something about other ghouls in Yiling, so surely even the Wen Clan wouldn’t go traipsing into claimed territory.

(Or would they? Fuck, he didn’t know anything about the finer points of the inter-clan geopolitical situation)

He checked his clock. 3.45pm

**[lanwangji]:**

_I am coming now_

**[WIFI]:**

_Sounds good_

It was . . . uncharacteristically curt.

(The mask sat heavily in his briefcase).

Lan Wangji didn’t waste another moment, cleaning up his desk and immediately heading out.

He pulled up outside the apartment in Yiling, tucking his car in the cleanest part of the rapidly degrading car parks he could find. Dodging around the weeds poking up through the cracks in the cement, he climbed up the flights of stairs as swiftly as he could, seeking out the door number Wei Wuxian had texted him.

303

The key was sweaty in his hand, even though he’d specifically got a little bunny sleeve to protect it from such things. Wei Wuxian would probably find it cute.

Still tense, Lan Wangji swung open the door and froze.

Perched atop his kitchen bench, Wei Wuxian did similarly, gaping up at Lan Wangji as he clutched a toddler in his lap, holding up something very red and bloody for its little toddler teeth to shred apart.

The door absently swung shut behind the Investigator with a click.

“Wait, Lan Zhan!” He yelped, hand going up, “this isn’t what it looks like!”

“. . . You are not feeding human flesh to a three-year-old?”

Wei Wuxian winced, “So. Umm. It is _exactly_ what it looks like. But no murder was involved! Promise!”

The toddler made an odd gurgle and promptly bit down hard - on both the offered meat _and_ Wei Wuxian’s hand.

Lan Wangji bolted forward as Wei Wuxian jumped, pulling on his tiny charge with his free hand. As blood dripped freely down his wrist, Lan Wangji leant the macabre reason why Wei Wuxian was trying to feed this thing next to his kitchen sink.

“No! Lan Zhan, don’t hurt him!”

“He’s eating you!”

“He’s a baby!! They do that!”

The toddler looked up at the sound of their shouting and came face to face with Lan Wangji’s furious gaze.

His lip trembled and he ever so slowly unlatched razor-sharp teeth from his guardian’s hand, pulling off some of his intended meal with his jaw.

And then he promptly burst into tears.

“Oh, fffffff _udge_ , A-Yuan, it’s okay sweetie, Lan Zhan just has a scary face, everything’s okay, no one’s mad at you, I promise.”

Lan Wangji glared at him, retrieving some kitchen paper and holding out a hand. Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes, but handed it over regardless, allowing Lan Wangji to dab the torn-up skin.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan . . . I’m not lacking in the healing department.”

“Wounds should be cleaned.” he replied. As if realising what he’d done, the toddler had muffled his sobs for more tame sniffles, licking the injured hand in seeming penitence. Wei Wuxian stroked his hair with his uninjured hand, pulling him up close.

“You don’t need to do that, A-Yuan, just let Lan-gege here handle it.”

“Xian-gege,” the toddler mumbled, “Xian-gege, are you mad?”

Wei Wuxian beamed cheerfully and shook his head. The toddler brightened up immediately. In that moment, Wei Wuxian picked up the last of the scraps and handed them over solemnly.

“But you know, A-Yuan, if you were to eat _all_ your dinner, I’d get better _even faster_.”

“Really?!”

“Mmhm,” Wei Wuxian nodded, overly serious, three fingers in the air, “would I lie to you?”The toddler squinted up at him.

“Yes.”

Lan Wangji cleared his throat to mask his laugh and Wei Wuxian shot him an offended look.

He managed to keep his face innocent. “Do you have antiseptic wipes?”

“Oh, _god_ , if I do, they’d be under the microwave.” Wei Wuxian jutted to it with his chin, better positioning the toddler who was now obediently stuffing his face with flesh that wasn’t his guardian’s. The resulting noises were vaguely disgusting, but since neither of them seemed to be overly concerned with the amount of blood, he just swallowed and fished out Wei Wuxian’s somewhat ornamental first aid kit. It was terribly understocked, but he did manage to find a small packet of antiseptic wipes. Cleaning the gnashes themselves was the actual hard part, as the skin had already begun to form over the cuts, and his resulting force had Wei Wuxian squeaking a couple of times, blowing on the stinging antiseptic.

A-Yuan finished part of the way through and shifted around to wrap his arms around Wei Wuxian’s neck, alternating between watching Lan Wangji’s meticulous ministrations and burying his face in his guardian’s hoodie.

Wei Wuxian waited until Lan Wangji had moved away, before pulling him down and showing off his newly cleaned hand, now really nothing more than fading white scars.

“See, baby? Who’s a liar?”

A-Yuan grabbed the hand and gave it a very careful inspection, before turning and puffing his cheeks.

“. . . Xian-gege normally lies though.”

He gasped and covered his toddler’s mouth, turning to Lan Wangji with a wounded expression.

“I would never! Lan Zhan! Tell me you don’t believe such slander! He’s but a child! He doesn’t know what he’s saying!”

Lan Wangji stared at him, deadpan. “I believe the child.”

Wei Wuxian pouted as a giggle echoed out from A-Yuan’s muffled face. Seemingly appeased, the toddler shifted forward slightly, reaching out to grasp Lan Wangji’s sleeve. Vaguely amused, he complied, Wei Wuxian shuffling forward on the bench and properly wrapping his arms around A-Yuan’s waist. The toddler fiddled with the white sleeve, before sniffing the hand.

“Xian-gege, Lan-gege’s a human!” he suddenly declared, very surprised. Wei Wuxian nodded, patting his head.

“He is indeed. So, be a good boy and don’t bite, okay? He can’t fix it like we can.”

That news seemed to startle the toddler, who immediately began wriggling and Lan Wangji couldn’t take him before Wei Wuxian just straight dropped him onto the floor.

“Wei Ying!”

He darted across, hands out, only to see the toddler lithely twist and land on his feet, immediately hurrying over to the first aid kid on his stumpy legs. Wei Wuxian was grinning at him.

“He’s a ghoul, Lan Zhan. His kinetic movement is better than most adult humans.”

“ _That was dangerous.”_

“That’s just because you’ve only known human babies. _They’re_ super fragile, but heck, you could probably bowl a ghoul child and they’d still land fine.”

He glowered, nevertheless offering a hand to help Wei Wuxian down. “You’re censoring.”“If he’s gonna swear in front of his parents, I’m not going to be the one responsible.”

“Lan-gege, Lan-gege!” he turned at the tug on his coat to find A-Yuan pulling at his side, holding a fistful of Band-Aids, “To help you!”

He gazed down at the earnest thing, before turning and crouching down to reach A-Yuan’s eye level and extending his hand.

“Thank you, A-Yuan.” he accepted the Band-Aids, and made sure the toddler could see him carefully pocketing them. The toddler beamed, whole body lighting up with his happiness, before he stumbled over to Wei Wuxian’s outstretched hand.

“Aiyah, look at you, such a nice boy,” Wei Wuxian bent down and scooped him up, flipping him upside down and blowing raspberries into the now exposed belly. A-Yuan’s giggles increased tenfold as his guardian swung him around.

“Since when have you had a child?” Lan Wangji asked, dutifully repacking the first aid kit that A-Yuan had completely turned out, restoring it under the microwave. Wei Wuxian grinned.

“Since 2pm. My friend had a crisis at work, and his sister’s always busy Saturdays, so I volunteered to watch his nephew for the rest of the day.”

“We were meant to be going out.” He sighed, and blinked as Wei Wuxian just held up a victory sign. In a slightly disturbing feat of athleticism considering A-Yuan’s age, the toddler lifted himself back upright and scrambled up so he could hang off Wei Wuxian’s neck.

“Don’t worry! We can still do that! I was thinking about it and A-Yuan would actually be an asset!”

“We are not bringing a baby with us.”

“Hey, he’s three!”

“Three years _and_ four months,” A-Yuan nodded importantly, sticking his chin high and proud. Wei Wuxian nodded beside him.

Lan Wangji stared at them both and slowly shook his head.

Ten minutes later, he was dutifully waiting by the door as A-Yuan struggled to put on his shoes, Wei Wuxian rummaging through a small polka dot covered drawstring bag.

“Where did she put it . . .? Aha!” He pulled out a small mask, his own black rabbit askew atop his own head as he hurried over. “A-Yuan, face up.”

The toddler turned his face forward, perfectly still as Wei Wuxian fastened the mask around his head. Unlike the strings keeping the rabbit masks in place, this one just had a simple Velcro strap, slipped through a clip on one side then looped back over to stick together.

Wei Wuxian pulled his own mask down properly, as A-Yuan bounced back up to his feet, both adjusting their masks to be right over their eyes. A-Yuan’s was cartoonish, especially compared to their own, wide beady black eyes framing a delicate pointed beak taking up most of his face.

He reached up, fingers outstretched, “Yiling, your mask is different!”

“Mmhm, this is my secret business mask,” Wei Wuxian crouched down, finger over where his mouth should be. “So, you need to call me Black Rabbit while I’m wearing it, okay? And don’t mention this to Cheng-gege.”

“Okay.”

“And while we’re on the subject,” he turned, absently catching A-Yuan’s hand in his own, “Lan Zhan, I would like you to meet Swallow. Swallow, Lan-gege’s mask name is White Rabbit. Can you remember that?”

The toddler nodded and Lan Zhan dipped his head.

“It is nice to meet you, Swallow.”

The ghoul child dipped his head and wrapped his spare hand and face around Wei Wuxian’s leg. Wei Wuxian tossed a backpack over his shoulder, keys on his finger. “You ready to go?”

No. There was something they needed to address.

Lan Wangji leant in closer, “The Wen Clan are looking for two ghouls in rabbit masks.”

“Yeah, I know,” the masked face dipped, “they spread the word out to the clans as well. Mianmian sent me a very angry text about it at 2am today.”

“Will she-?”

“All mask makers are protected by customer confidentiality.” Wei Wuxian quickly assured him, patting his arm, ”There’d be no point to masks if you could just threaten the ones who made them.”

Lan Wangji nodded, picking up his briefcase. The three of them walked out of the apartment, the city before them cast in the orange of sunset, Wei Wuxian pulling his door firmly shut behind them.

“Pretty . . .” the child mumbled, gazing out and tightening his grip on his babysitter’s hand. Wei Wuxian laughed, dropping his keys into his backpacker and properly scooping the child up into his arms.

“Why don’t we go to Yunmeng’s lakes sometime next week? That’s definitely the prettiest part of the city.”

“Okay! I wanna go see Aunt Li!”

“Jiang Yanli?” he confirmed, and Wei Wuxian nodded.

“Yeah, sometimes I end up taking him into work - most of the staff knows him at this point, it’s sort of embarrassing.”

“How often do you watch him?”

“Well, his parents pay me to watch him on Monday and Wednesday nights,” he grimaced, “but they’re always busy and so Swallow normally just gets passed around his relatives. I’m pretty close with two of them so I volunteer whenever I can, so it’s not uncommon for me to have him on Saturdays, or Fridays, or Tuesdays . . . and I mean, they’re both working tomorrow morning, so he’ll probably stay over tonight . . .”

“So you are often looking after him.”

Wei Wuxian grinned, “Yeah, but is that really such a problem?” he reached down and squished the toddler’s cheeks, much to his pouty protest, “He’s just such a little cutie! Cute enough to _eat_!”

“Nooo!” A-Yuan squealed, scrabbling at his guardian. Lan Wangji frowned.

“You shouldn’t joke about such things.”

“Relax, White,” Wei Wuxian let go, reaching out for A-Yuan to obediently grasp his hand, “we’re a lot more chill about casual cannibalism than you lot.”

“Improper.”

“Every one’s improper compared to you,” Wei Wuxian pointed out, helping A-Yuan down the apartment’s stairs, passing Lan Wangji’s car and instead moving straight for the nearest alley. Lan Wangji didn’t know where they were going, but Wei Wuxian seemed to, so he ended up just calmly following him.

The moon was on the verge of rising by the time Wei Wuxian started to slow down, inspecting the houses one by one, counting under his breath. At this stage, they might have even passed out of Yiling, but he wasn’t familiar enough with the Wards of this part of the city to guess where they’d wandered.

Surprisingly, A-Yuan did.

“Black Rabbit, Black Rabbit,” he livened up, tugging on his guardian’s arm, “Are we going to see Daozhang?”

Lan Wangji blinked at him.

Wei Wuxian hummed, agreeable, “Yep. So make sure to be suuuper nice, alright? This is their territory, after all.”

“Okay.” The toddler nodded, and just held on tighter.

“Black,” he murmured, as soon as the toddler wasn’t paying them anymore attention, “who is Daozhang?”

“He’s one of my friends - but he’s also got a pretty solid network over the city. If there are other places like the laboratory, he’s the one most likely to have heard something.”

Lan Wangji nodded, just as Wei Wuxian brightened.

“Ah! Here we are!”

They quickened their pace and Lan Wangji quickly took grasp of A-Yuan’s other hand to prevent him from slipping, the two occasionally swinging the toddler between them each time his little legs began to fall behind. The excited giggles certainly implied he was enjoying it. Wei Wuxian led them down a side street, comprised mostly of shops selling funeral goods. Right at the end was a morgue.

“Daozhang’s a pacifist,” Wei Wuxian explained, reaching up to knock on the steel door, “and he’s actually one of the most successful scavengers. A lot of ghouls come here when they’re desperate. Their cover work is somewhat back alley - they get given bodies no one’s claimed, so when he scavenges, he takes what he needs and then gives them a place here just like all the rest. He’s got deals with chop shops and other scavengers all across the city.”

Lan Wangji nodded his head, intrigued despite himself.

“Chop shops?”

“They provide food for people who can’t, or won’t, hunt.”

The door swung open and they were met with the unfriendly scowl of a young teenage girl, walking stick in one hand and white eyes gazing absently forward.

. . . Wei Wuxian had said ‘he’ so who was this?

For a moment, the people on either side of the raised threshold remained silent.

She scowled harder, “Look, I’m more than happy to say ‘hi!’ ‘nice to see you again!’ ‘it’s been sooo long!’ but I’m going to need something to work with here.”

“Lies,” Wei Wuxian snorted, “You know exactly who we are, A-Qing.”

The scowl twitched, on the verge of flipping into a smug grin, “Aw, come on, gege, don’t ruin my fun. You even brought someone new this time.”

“Qing-jie!” A-Yuan squealed, letting go of their hands to stumble forward and throw his arms around her. She caught him with no problems, grinning and patting his head.

“Hey hey, look at you! You’re getting awfully pudgy these days . . .”

“Not pudgy! Not!”

“She’s not blind?” Lan Wangji turned and Wei Wuxian’s laughter echoed out from his mask.

“Nah, she’s got a really rare eye colour and just pretends to be.”

“Oi, don’t announce it so loudly,” she jabbed him with her cane, “I’ve not become the best at pretending to be blind just for you to go blabbing.”

“Yeah, yeah, you brat. Where’s Daozhang?”

“Inside. Come on.” She pushed open the door, stepping aside for them to enter the reception beyond, lightly swinging her cane across her shoulders, “He’s got a few guests, but they’re almost done.”

She led them through the small building, headed for the staff door right at the back. Beyond it lay a whole corridor of various temperature-controlled rooms, lined with fridges and sealed equipment. A couple sheet-covered bodies were laid out on benches, others completely locked down, and a whole room packed away and ready to be taken away to a public gravesite.

He wondered idly about his life choices as he really not a single person amidst the four of them found the place creepy.

“Why’d you come so suddenly, gege?” A-Qing was asking, “You know he likes at least a week’s warning.”

“It was urgent.”

“You know what else is urgent? Daozhang’s cleaning, after being told he’s suddenly getting guests.”

“You’re just saying that because you couldn’t ask me to pick you up some ice cream on the way through.”

She shrugged, not denying it and Lan Wangji paused, eyes widening ever so slightly.

“You’re human?” Lan Wangji realised, head tilted her way. He received a challenging glance in response.

“So what? You got a problem with humans?”

“A-Qing,” Wei Wuxian sounded like he was very close to laughing again, “I’d like you to meet White Rabbit. He’s _also_ human.”

She paused.

“. . . Huh.”

Slowly, she turned and glanced between the two of them, expression deepening from curiosity to speculative.

“Soooo, gege. How’s your love life going?”

“Oh I don’t know, how’s your middle school attendance going?”

She huffed importantly, “Who cares? Daozhang’s a better teacher than those bozos anyway.”

“Education is important,” he felt the need to input, concerned about this tiny scrap of a girl and she stared at him incredulously, before turning back to Wei Wuxian.

“Where did you _get_ this guy?”

“Gusu.” 

Lan Wangji pivoted at the new, rather snooty voice, hand immediately flying for his quinque. Leaning against one of the morgue’s walls (and he had _not_ been there last time Lan Wangji looked, which implied a certain degree of inhumane speed and agility) was a man who looked both slightly younger than them and slightly too above himself to be here.

Dressed in all black, nose in the air, and a medical patch over one eye, his aloof demeanour seemed to clash with the austere black mask in his hand, carved to look like a bodhisattva.

. . . Was this one the Daozhang?

“Song Daozhang! Song Daozhang!” A-Qing waved cheerfully (so maybe not?), “welcome home!”

The ghoul hummed, lightly pushing off the wall and gliding across to stand beside them, not reacting to the arm A-Qing hooked around his own elbow. He bowed formally.

“Welcome back, Wei Ying.” He greeted, voice stiff. “Why have you brought a dove here?”

A-Qing startled.

“Because shit’s getting stirred up, and we’re collaborating!”

The ghoul frowned at him. Lan Wangji felt a tug on his hands and turned to find A-Yuan squinting up at him.

“What did he mean?” the toddler asked, visibly confused, “White Rabbit’s not a dove, he’s Black Rabbit’s friend. He’s too nice to be a dove.”

Lan Wangji felt his throat clog up for a reason he wasn’t quite ready to dissect.

His train of thought was sharply interrupted as A-Qing suddenly clapped her hands together, “Oh, I get it. He’s your stalker, right?”

Wei Wuxian turned to stare at her.

“How do you guys know about that? Oh, come on!” he threw out at the end, as Song Daozhang immediately gave an understanding nod of his own. A-Qing gave him a comforting pat on the arm.

“Don’t worry, cuz, we understand. Daozhang was _thrilled_ when he heard the news.”

“ _What news?”_

“You two are cousins?” Lan Wangji asked, right at the same moment. A-Qing looked offended.

“Umm, duh? Or do you not count adoption or something?”

He blinked and Wei Wuxian, still looking like he didn’t know whether to be wary or miffed, just squeezed his wrist.

“Ah, right. White Rabbit, Daozhang is my mum’s younger brother. My uncle. This is Song Zichen, his partner, and A-Qing, his . . . what are you? Adopted daughter? Protector? Useful attainer of things in pockets?”

“Your whole family line is cursed,” A-Qing rebutted blithely, turning away on that cheery note and leading them right through to the back.

Right down the end, the office led to a door, the other side of which had to be the actual house, given the badly hand-stitched sign that read ‘home sweet home’ neatly pinned against the wood. A-Qing reached out and swung it open without so much as knocking.

“Daozhang! Wei Wuxian’s come to bother you!”

Their group of five walked into a warmly lit living room, kitchen visible to the right, and other doors leading away. Wei Wuxian scoffed, flopping down on the couch and pulling A-Yuan up onto his lap.

“You know, maybe I came just to say hi to my favourite relatives?”

“Fat chance of that, we all know Yanli-jie’s your favourite.”

Lan Wangji arched an eyebrow at this girl, taking a seat beside Wei Wuxian as Song Zichen left for the kitchen.

His friend’s undoubtedly rude reply was interrupted when one of the doors opened.

“Enough, A-Qing,” a young man about Song Zichen’s age emerged, dressed in a white lab coat with some plain work clothes underneath.

Pitch black glasses hung over his eyes.

A-Qing immediately dashed over to his side, taking his arm and guiding him to the nearest chair, the cushiest one.

He smiled.

“Thank you, my dear.”

“Thanks for this, Daozhang,” Wei Wuxian handed A-Yuan to Lan Wangji, dancing to his feet to head over and hug the man, “Sorry for not ringing ahead.”

“Yeah, you’d better be!!” Song Zichen’s voice echoed out from the kitchen, and the Daozhang sighed, instead simply turning his head towards Lan Wangji.

“Do not take Zichen’s temperament as any indicator - you are most welcome here. My name is Xiao Xingchen. Who might you be?”

He dipped his head, “Lan Wangji.”

Xiao Xingchen’s fingers twitched in surprise.

“Wei Wuxian’s stalker!”

“Are you actually doing anything in that kitchen!?”

“All right, that’s enough,” Xiao Xingchen interceded, hand moving onto Wei Wuxian’s arm, “I’m always happy to see you.”

“Figuratively speaking.” A-Qing grinned, unrepentant as Xiao Xingchen gave her an absent head pat.

Wei Wuxian stuck his tongue out at her, returning to rest up against Lan Wangji’s side.

Worried he might be bit awkward, Lan Wangji quickly lifted up his arm so Wei Wuxian could slot against him more comfortably.

(A-Qing looked thrilled)

“Is there anything in particular that we can help you with?” Xiao Xingchen tilted his head and Wei Wuxian nodded.

“We wondering if you know about any of the Wen Clan’s secret projects?” he shifted, gesturing, “Like, not the big Sun Corp. ones but the littler ones? More discrete, handled by Wen Xu.”

Xiao Xingchen’s forehead flickered.

“. . . A-Qing, what masks do they have?”

“Two rabbits, one white and one black.”

The Daozhang stared at them for a long, hard moment, “Wei Ying, what have you gotten yourself involved in this time?”

Wei Wuxian just beamed, “Please~?”

Xiao Xingchen just sighed.

The final figure immediately joined them.

“You know the cost of information,” Song Zichen came out and dumped an empty body bag on Wei Wuxian’s lap, “chop chop.”

“You’re lucky I’m cheap.” Wei Wuxian grumbled, “C’mon, A-Qing, I need you to validate me.”

“Where?” Lan Wangji reached up and caught his wrist, forehead pinched.

(The spot beside him was cold now)

Wei Wuxian smiled reassuringly, pulling him off.

“Don’t worry, White Rabbit - like I said, these guys scavenge like me. No killing will be done.”

He turned and frowned at the middle schooler grasping her cane in preparation to leave.

“Oh, well this is their turf, so if I go alone, others get iffy, thinking I’m moving in. A-Qing means they’ll naff off.”

He smiled, scooped up A-Yuan and beamed at the man in the chair.

“We’ll be back soon! Oh, and can you two fill him in on STS and artificial ghouls whilst you’re at it? Thanks,bye,loveyouboth!”

Lan Wangji whipped his head to stare.

(Artificial ghouls?)

Before he could call out, the three (well, two and a half) headed out and the door swing shut with a click.

Song Zichen broke the ensuing silence with a long-suffering grunt.

“That motherfucker.”

Xiao Xingchen frowned.

“A-Lan.”

“What? He’s unreasonable!”

“Excuse me . . .”

They both turned to him and Lan Wangji hid his swallow.

“What is an artificial ghoul?”

Xiao Xingchen stiffened slightly, holding out a hand which Song Zichen quickly squeezed.

The blind ghoul exhaled.

“It is a ghoul that has been made.”

“. . . Pardon?”

“It’s experimentation,” Song Zichen filled in curtly, “You chop up a ghoul, stick their organs in a human and voila - new ghoul.”

Lan Wangji just stared at him.

“That sounds like nonsense.”

The man sighed and stomped back to the kitchen.

Xiao Xingchen slumped slightly, before gesturing to the small table set up between them.

“In any case, we might be here for a while. Would you rather tea or coffee?”

“Tea, please,” he bowed stiffly, obediently moving closer to the one side of the table as the Daozhang sat across from him and Song Zichen rustled his way through the adjacent kitchen.

Xiao Xingchen stalled for a moment, turning over his thoughts, before sighing.

“Ah, where to start? I suppose I should first clarify that artificial ghouls are possible. It’s not nonsense, it’s been proven absolutely. The price is a horrifyingly risky surgery, but, done right, it works. A human becomes a ghoul, with all the pros and cons that goes along with such a transformation.”

“How?”

“The _kakuho_ u has to be fully transplanted, to start with, and ideally the stomach, intestines and liver have to be done as well,” Xiao Xingchen’s hand tightened his fingers together, “crucially, in order to manage the intense stimuli required to properly manipulate a _kagune_ , a fully functional _kakugan_ has to be implanted.”

Lan Wangji frowned, “Fully functional?”

Xiao Xingchen dipped his head, the rims of the glasses hanging low. “In other words, the donor must be alive when it is removed.”

Lan Wangji’s gut coiled.

“You have proof?”

“Of course, we do,” Song Zichen returned, carrying a tray with a pot of tea and coffees. They took a moment to share them out, Song Zichen guiding Xiao Xingchen’s hand to the coffee cup, whilst Lan Wangji poured green tea into a delicate little tea cup. As soon as Song Zichen settled down beside them, he turned. “It’s startling, but I can show you immediately, if you’d like.”

He nodded and then blinked as the man immediately reached up and removed his eye patch. Underneath it, a grey eye peered out, perfectly fine and matching the one beside it.

Around it though . . .

“The operation fucked up.” Song Zichen didn’t even bother with an explanation, “so I can still use my _kakugan_ , but a migraine quickly follows.”

Lan Wangji could have guessed. He was no stranger to the tension veins that often pushed up when a _kakugan_ was activated, but the agitated skin around Zichen’s right eye, stressed and angrily red, was painful to look at.

“When did it happen?” He stayed professional, even if his whole being wanted to flinch away in horror.

A human made into a ghoul.

A ghoul eats humans.

(Humans forced to eat other-)

“Two years ago.” Song Zichen answered blandly, “As you can see, it hasn’t ever improved.”

Fuck

“Is it painful?”

Song Zichen’s fingers twitched around his coffee mug.

“Yes.”

Xiao Xingchen squeezed his hand.

It felt awful but they had a purpose here and he inhaled deeply.

“What is the purpose of the serum we found?” He asked detachedly and the pair immediately stared at him piercingly. Song Zichen frowned, ever so darkly.

“. . . Wei Wuxian didn’t tell you anything.”

(His pulse skipped)

“I know it infuriated him. And disgusted him.”

“As it should.” Xiao Xingchen stated firmly. His partner turned to him, askance.

“Xingchen, if he hasn’t said-”

“Then Wei Ying came here because he knew we would,” the Daozhang responded calmly, turning to Lan Wangji, “that serum is hand designed - as of now, it is the only chemical preservative capable of keeping ghoul organs from rapidly decomposing upon leaving the body.”

He blinked.

“I was unaware-”

“Yeah, that’s because all your lot care about are the _kakuhou_ ,” Song Zichen interrupted, derisive, “without the _kakuhou_ to regulate RC levels, the rest of the body is quickly ripped apart by the monstrously high amount of unregulated RC cells. The serum halts the decomposition long enough to transfer it between bodies.”

“The _kakugan_ is obviously the most difficult to accomplish,” Xiao Xingchen picked up, “Next to a _kakuhou_ , it has the highest density of RC cells and an eyeball will always be fragile. It’s the only organ the serum doesn’t entirely work on.”

Lan Wangji exhaled slightly.

(Ghouls and humans were both going missing)

(a serum that enabled

_that enabled_. . .)

“Wei Ying and I,” he got out through his dry throat, “found a trafficking ring. With access to that formula.”

Both of then straightened up.

“Wei Ying says it . . . it wasn’t completely correct. Enough to work, but only just.”

“Can you remember it?” Song Zichen straightened, “the formula you found.”

He hesitated.“Wei Ying wanted it burnt.”

“And it shall be.” Xiao Xingchen vowed, grim, “But let us help you with this first.”

He flinched at the pen, but nevertheless quickly sketched out his memory of the formula. Song Zichen scanned it, jaw tight as he turned to his partner.

“I’d say this is about a 3.”

Xiao Xingchen sighed.

Lan Wangji frowned, “You’d ‘say’?”

“Of course,” the Daozhang shrugged, “we don’t know what it looks like complete.”

“A single man is responsible for creating the serum - and he has always withheld the formula,” Song Zichen continued on before Lan Wangji was left too lost, “he knows if people got a hold of it, artificial ghouls would only increase. Even his own notes have been deliberately tweaked. His serum so far has an 80% success rate at preserving organs for transplant. In comparison, this stuff you found? It’s more like 3% success rate.”

“. . . 3%?”

“It means for every three artificial ghouls created,” Xiao Xingchen lowered his voice, “ninety-seven will end up dead.”

Lan Wangji struggled not to crack his teacup, instead bringing it up for a trembling sip.

It had long gone cold.

“Why would someone create this?” He asked, hoping his horror wasn’t leaking into his voice, “What could they hope to gain?”

“The reasons people create artificial ghouls vary - but the purpose of the serum wasn’t even related to that. It was designed to only be between ghouls.”

Lan Wangji frowned.

Song Zichen shuffled his mug, “Xingchen, are you sure-?”

“I am,” the Daozhang held himself tall, turning to face Lan Wangji dead on, “the serum’s inventor had a best friend, whose _kakuhou_ was horribly mangled. He was going to die. The inventor spent every minute working until he had created this, then hunted down his friend’s attacker, dragged them back to his den and ripped out the _kakuhou_ to transfer it over. His best friend lived, and the attacker died soon after. It was . . . revolutionary might be an understatement.”

“It caused a huge stir - politically, all three parties were from Clans. The attacker, in particular, was a very high-ranking ghoul named Jin Zixun, and his death resulted in public damnation of the other two. The Inventor was forced to leave his territory although he kept up ties with his Clan - his friend, now deemed an abomination, was forcefully expelled from his Clan alongside his whole branch of the family. The group of them now form their own pack, outside of the Clan territories much like us.”

“You know them?”

“Of course, we do,” Xiao Xingchen huffed softly, “I was never going to let what I still believe to be an act of friendship alienate me from my nephew.”

Lan Wangji stilled.

Song Zichen let out a dry huff beside him.

“Yeah. Why do you think Wei Wuxian made himself scarce for this conversation? He hates talking about it.”

“He guards his research very seriously,” Xiao Xingchen forged on before Lan Wangji could even process it, “he was careless with it once, and Zichen’s attack followed soon after. I can only imagine how incensed he must have been to find it in the hands of a trafficking ring.”

They both fell silent and Lan Wangji found himself pulling inwards, gut coiling in all sorts of different ways. Song Zichen sighed, reaching for the rough paper Lan Wangji had sketched out.

“I’m going to burn this.”

“Down to the ashes.” Xiao Xingchen agreed, pressing his hands together, “They’ve returned. Wei Ying is waiting for you outside. Search for Phoenix Hospital, in the Baifeng Ward.”

“Mm.”

He placed down the empty tea cup and prepared to leave.

“Lan Wangji,” he paused at the hand on his shoulder. Xiao Xingchen tilted his head ever so slightly.

“Wei Ying created the Stygian Tiger Serum to help someone he cared deeply about. And he kept it secret not only because he didn’t desire this very outcome, but because he _feared_ it. Please do not hold its creation against him. And be careful.”

Lan Wangji stared at the Daozhang, before slowly removing the hand.

“Very well.”

Wei Wuxian was indeed waiting for him outside, perched up a half-collapsed wall, A-Yuan snoozing in his arms and mask in his lap. A-Qing and the body bag were nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, Lan Zhan!” he smiled, a bit weakly, “did you get the info?”

He inspected the One-Eyed Ghoul, head slightly askew, “I did.”

“So what’s our heading?”

“Baifeng. Phoenix Hospital.”

“. . . Fucking hell.” Wei Wuxian tipped his head back to the sky, “nothing’s sacred anymore, is it?”

Lan Wangji blinked at him, “You were not meant to swear in front of A-Yuan.”

Wei Wuxian paused, head moving to stare at Lan Wangji, eyes wide.

“Put your mask back on. We’re going.”

“Right!” Wei Wuxian hurriedly pulled on the black mask, lithely jumping down without a bump. “. . . Do you have anything you, umm, want to ask?”

“They told me you don’t like talking about it.”

“I really don’t, to be honest.” Wei Wuxian just adjusted his grip on A-Yuan, uncaring as the toddler drooled on his shoulder, “But if you want to know anything, I did promise to share.”

They walked through the alley in silence, and Lan Wangji finally swallowed, biting the bullet.

“What was his name?”

“Hm?” 

“The ghoul you saved.”

Wei Wuxian inhaled slightly, arms tightening around the toddler, before he shook out his shoulders, chin high and proud. “What _is_ his name, White. You’ll fine I’m rather proud of his continuing existence.”

Lan Wangji waited, and Wei Wuxian huffed.

“You’ve already met him. A-Ning and I were playing DDR together at the arcade. Or, Wen Ning, but who knows who’d come after us if we called him that.”

He blinked, turning properly, “You saved the life of a Wen?”

“I saved the life of my best friend,” Wei Wuxian corrected, weary, “and it wasn’t like the Wens ever fucking treated him and his branch like family. They were tools - pulled out when useful, and locked away for every other moment of their lives.”

He huffed, and Lan Wangji imagined he was smiling slightly under that mask, “They’re the ones who share Yiling with me. We weren’t welcome anywhere else. They’d lost the right to declare themselves as Wen. And I gained a name - the ‘Dreaded Yiling Patriarch’.”

He groaned.

Lan Wangji just moved closer, futile trying to see eyes behind the mask.

“You were thrown out of Yunmeng?”

Wei Wuxian hesitated, turning to him.

Lan Wangji jumped at the single tear fell free.

“Wei Ying!”

“No, I’m fine!” Wei Wuxian immediately scrubbed his eyes, knocking his mask askew and not resisting as Lan Wangji pulled him in close, “it’s just . . . urgh.”

“You are not obliged to answer.”

“I know, but I want to answer,” he responded forcefully, “you’ve been just fucking incredible and I . . . you . . . thank you so much, Lan Zhan.”

Lan Wangji just tightened his hold, moving them to the side for a moment. “You . . . said you moved out.”

“Well, I _did_ ,” Wei Wuxian laughed curtly, “It just was a very, very sudden decision I had to make else the Jin and Wen clan were going to attack Yunmeng.”

“Your family agreed?”

“No,” He sniffed, and Lan Wangji hurried to grab him a tissue, “but we’re the smallest of the three Clans. We would have been crushed. Though Shijie still went on a bloody rampage following the whole thing out of spite.”

He blew into the tissue and just buried himself against Lan Wangji’s chest. He wound his arms around the One-Eyed Ghoul, careful not to crush the sleeping toddler as he held Wei Wuxian tight.

Wei Wuxian sniffed mightily, shaking himself, “It’s not so bad - it’s not like I was completely exiled like A-Ning was. Officially, I’m just not allowed to use Yunmeng as my own hunting grounds - I’m still allied with everyone.”

“And you go out hunting with them.”

(Ah fuck he wasn’t meant to know that)

“Yeah, that’s also fine,” Wei Wuxian nodded absently, and Lan Wangji felt a distinct thread of relief.

“We can stop, if this is distressing for you.”

Wei Wuxian gave a wet chuckle, reaching up and just nuzzling closer into his neck.

“Lan Zhan’s the best,” he mumbled, “the very best.”

(He felt something in his chest flutter, and was mildly concerned if Uncle’s cardiac issues may be genetic)

Wei Wuxian’s fingers dug into his coat.

“But we need to find this hospital. We can’t afford to waste time - when these surgeries fail, it’s never pretty. If there are people in danger of it, right now . . .

“We will save them,” he agreed, words a vow that Wei Wuxian affirmed with a nod. He couldn’t help keeping their fingers bound, as they began the walk back to Wei Wuxian’s apartment to get the car.

“. . . Wei Ying.”

“Yeah?”

“What does happen . . . when it fails?”

Wei Wuxian paused, and his gaze dropped, “Well, it just doesn’t work - the organ disintegrates, and you’re left without a vital organ right in the middle of critical surgery. It’s basically inevitable that the patient will die in theatre.”

“I didn’t know you knew surgery.”

“Oh, I don’t,” at Lan Wangji’s surprised tilt, he willingly elaborated, surprisingly chirpy, “A-Ning’s older sister is a great doctor - she was the one who actually transferred the _kakuhou._ She even helped me out with the whole mess with the Daozhang.”

“How did it fail?”

Wei Wuxian huffed, “The _kakugan_ didn’t work - melted in the hands of the surgeon and he gave Song Daozhang up for dead. Little brat’s probably the shit who gave the Wen Clan bits of the STS formula in the first place.”

“You know him?”

“Oh sure,” Wie Wuxian turned, easily and without hesitation, “he’s never too far.”

Lan Wangji spy and looked up, just in time to see a black shape vanishing over the edge of the furthest building.

“. . . We were being watched.”

“I guess,” Wei Wuxian seemed remarkably nonchalant about the matter and it was easy to match his demeanour, “Xue Yang’s nosy.”

“You do not mind?”

“Not really,” the lightest amount of black flickered through his left eye, “I’ve tanned his hide once for the whole debacle with Song Daozhang. Even his bloated esteem isn’t formidable enough to come after me soon.”

Lan Wangji hummed, displeased, but content to trust Wei Wuxian.

One last thought did occur to him.

“Whose eyes?”

“Huh?”

“Whose _kakugan_ did you end up using?”

The One-Eyed Ghoul blinked at him, his shoulders slumping slightly.

“Xiao Xingchen’s.”

Phoenix Hospital turned out to be on the far side of the Baifeng Ward’s largest mountain, perched so conveniently out of the way that he’d almost think it a trick.

But then he had also traipsed through an underground laboratory, so maybe these people were just deeply committed to their aesthetic of Villain lairs.

Beside him, Wei Wuxian was squinting up at the roof.

“What do you think?”

“I think that the front smells a lot like a typical hospital. So, we’re dealing with either back rooms or a basement.”

“Can you get us to the top?”

“Most likely, but it will be a bit of a climb.” He turned, opened the back door and yanked out an iPad from A-Yuan’s little drawstring bag. “All right, sweetie, Xian-gege and Lan-gege are going out for a moment. I need you to stay here and protect the car okay?”

“Okay!”

“Auntie Qing’s loaded up your games?”

“Yep!”

“Good boy,” Wei Wuxian got him started on an overly cartoonish, vaguely mathematical game, before moving to shut the door.

Lan Wangji caught his shoulder.

“Are you just leaving him in the car?”

“He’ll be fine.”

“Wei Ying, you shouldn’t leave babies in cars unattended.”

“He’s a ghoul – he’s perfectly safe. And he’s not a baby anymore!”

“This is irresponsible.”

“How is that out of character for me?”

Lan Wangji flared his nostrils and then reached in and retrieved his pager from his belt, placing it next to A-Yuan.

“A-Yuan,” he spoke carefully, waiting for those big doleful violet eyes to turn his way, “if you are feeling in trouble, please push the big button.”

“The one on the front?”

“Mm.”

The toddler beamed at him, “Okay, Lan-gege!”

He quickly returned to his iPad, humming as he moved digital numbered frogs to the correct lily pads.

Wei Wuxian was watching him.

“Did you just give my kid a _baby monitor_?”

“It is not a baby monitor,” he blinked, “it is a code red emergency signal to the CCG headquarters.”

Wei Wuxian choked on air.

“If the Wen Clan find him, he will receive immediate protection.”

“And they say I’m extreme.” Wei Wuxian ducked past him and pinched A-Yuan’s cheeks. The toddler pouted up at him.

“Xian-gege don’t-!”

“A-Yuan, listen to me,” Wei Wuxian spoke carefully, “ _only_ push that button if you are in _deep_ trouble. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Xian-gege . . .”

“Good boy,” he kissed the toddler’s forehead, “We’ll be back soon.”

He shut the door and stuck up his thumb.

A-Yuan frowned at him behind the window for disturbing his game again and the one-red ghoul snorted, quickly retreating.

He bowed to Lan Wangji.

“Shall we?”

Lan Wangji stared at him, then locked the car.

“You are a terrible babysitter.”

“Maybe, but he still likes me more than anyone else!” Wei Wuxian grinned, simply holding out his arms. Lan Wangji huffed, nevertheless reaching back and clutching himself tightly up against Wei Wuxian’s chest. The man grinned in his ear.

“Hold on, Lan er-gege~”

Before Lan Wangji could process what _that_ did to him, Wei Wuxian’s _rinkaku_ unfurled and then the ghoul had lightly crouched and flung them both skywards. Lan Wangji sharply inhaled, tightening his grip around Wei Wuxian, but the One-Eyed Ghoul just squeezed him reassuringly, as they hurtled towards the cliffside. His _rinkaku_ flexed and four plunged into the rock, squishing to soften their momentum. After a moment to check Lan Wangji was all right, Wei Wuxian tipped up his head and his tendrils began clawing their way up, approaching the building hanging off the side of the mountain. Lan Wangji shifted, leaning back slightly to examine the sides better.

“Veer left, twenty degrees. There is a balcony.”

“Right.”

Wei Wuxian shifted accordingly, getting a slightly lower grasp on Lan Wangji so that the Investigator could reach up and snag the edge of the metal balcony. The Investigator carefully checked his grip on the rail and lightly hauled himself up and over the side. Wei Wuxian easily crawled after him, flipping over the balcony with a grin.

“You’re _seriously_ human?”

“ _Black_.”

“I’m not joking!” the tone in his voice strongly indicated otherwise, “Surely you should at least need to adjust for pressure or something.”

“It was fine.” he linked his hand with Wei Ying’s, “You didn’t hurt me.”

Wei Wuxian shuffled about, huffing and hawing, but eventually just clinging to his arm with a giggle.

“You can’t just _say_ things like that.”

“Mm.”

“My little White Rabbit, you need to take responsibility for the things you do to my heart~”

“I will.”

Wei Wuxian spluttered.

Lan Wanji instead turned his attention to the small little door leading out to the balcony, testing thee handle.

“It is locked.”

Wei Wuxian nodded, moving beside him and clicking his tongue. “Aw, it’s electric. Move back.”

Lan Wangji obediently gave him some space as Wei Wuxian rolled his neck. Four of his tendrils arched forward and speared the door, yanking it off its hinges in a single tug.

The two stared at the door suspended on the _rinkaku_.

“What do I do with this?”

Lan Wangji shrugged.

Wei Wuxian snorted and absently hurled it over the side the balcony, _rinkaku_ slithering back to nothing the moment it was unburdened.

Lan Wangji double checked his gun, and the two headed in.

It was somewhat unremarkable.

They were likely in the accounting section, far more space dedicated to desks and computers than patients and medical blocks. Lan Wangji absently skimmed a map on the wall as Wei Wuxian sat himself down and began typing away at the nearest computer.

Soon, he was grumbling.

“There’s nothing in here - whatever the wen are doing here, it’s off record.”

“We are positive they are here?”

“If this is where the Daozhang said, then they’ll be here.” Wei Wuxian assured him, confident and Lan Wangji accepted it with a nod, turning back to the map.

After a thought, he pulled out his phone and checked the satellite image of the building, mentally adjusting the scales of both maps to match.

“. . . The south side is shallow.”

“South side, huh?” Wei Wuxian bounced over to his side, immediately snarling in distaste.

“Closest to the ER.”

“You believe they are taking patients from the hospital?”

“No, because then people wouldn’t be going missing.” The two waited for the computer to shut down, before heading down through the hospital, “But hey, if someone’s going to die anyway, might as well use them.”

Lan Wangji curled his lip in disgust.

They made a point of avoiding people who might reasonably find their appearance just the slightest bit concerning. Instead, they snuck through the back routes, waiting for nurses to hurry past, night shift doctors hauling themselves to their next appointment. Upon reaching the ER, they discovered another reason it might be the cover for whatever lay beyond.

It was still brightly lit and fully occupied.

They both snuck back into the shadows just before an emergency case was rushed through.

“Is it worth removing our masks?”

“Nah, I wouldn’t,” Wei Wuxian glanced around, “if there’s CCTV, we’ll be fucked.” 

He nodded in agreement, before glancing up.

“Can you get through the vents?”

Wei Wuxian turned to him and Lan Wangji dimly felt his eyes might be shining.

“I want to try!”

“ _Can_ you though?”

“Hey, they do it all the time in spy movies, I’m down!”

“ _Black_ _Rabbit!”_

The One-Eyed Ghoul lightly kicked up the wall, holding himself aloft as he pulled the vent cover free and slipped in.

And then he popped back out a minute later.

Lan Wangji caught him as he dropped out, shaking his bright red face, readjusting his mask.“Nope. Way too hot. But it did give me an idea - can you hold me up?”

He blinked, swung Wei Wuxian around in his arms and held him up. The One-Eyed Ghoul exhaled and then a single _rinkaku_ tendril slithered free and worked its way into the vent. He mumbled to himself as it kept extended, shifting around the ventilation.

And then he let out a slight ‘ha!’ and the lights all cut off as alarmed cries echoed all around them.

“Did you just cut the power in a _hospital_?!” he hissed, and Wei Wuxian shook his head.

“Nope, just the light power. So, let’s go before they figure it out.”

His _rinkaku_ disintegrated and the two hurried out. Doctors and nurses were hurrying around them, calling to each other, so focused on their destinations that they didn’t even register the two masked figures sneaking through. Lan Wangji led, map memorised, as he wound his way through the dark to where the south side of the hospital should technically continue on. Wei Wuxian stepped to his side, sniffing carefully as he ran fingers over the smooth wall.

“. . . Here.” He paused, running his nail over a tiny seam, “Ghouls have been here.”

Lan Wangji nodded, helping him find the edges of the door and then they both pushed.

It swung forward and they stumbled forward into brightly lit office. It was a plain and simple administrative area, only a couple of desks backed up against a glass wall, an open door to their side leading down to some lower area.

(Wei Wuxian stiffened beside him)

Lan Wanji paced forward and glanced beyond the glass wall.

His stomach went _taught_.

Spread out below him were rows upon rows of medical benches, countless individual in white coats, gloves and breathing masks were hurrying between each, pushing trolleys of surgical tools and jars of preserved organs.

And -

And strapped to the benches-

Lan Wangji turned away, dropping to his knees below the glass window and pressing his back firm against the wall. His hand had flown to his mouth and he dimly realised it was trembling as he forced his stomach to keep its contents right where they were.

Focus.

Breathe.

(They had to find who in charge here - if they cut off the head, then the rest would follow. If they got caught up on trying to save individuals, those left will suffer)

Fuck

Fuck

_Fuck_

He took in a deep, shaking breath.

(If they can shut it down, then they can come back for _all_ of the victims.)

Shuddering, he turned.

“Wei Ying-”

He cut off. His heart skipped a beat.

Wei Wuxian was still pressed up against the wall they’d come through, nails razor sharp points where they were sunk clean through the plaster, his mask discarded beside him. Blood was dripping down his chin from how hard he was biting down on his lip. The rivulets were then diluting, as they merged with the loose tap of drool pouring out from his mouth.

(The ghouls working below were wearing breathing masks)

Lan Wangji inwardly cursed - he’d been alarmed by the amount of blood, horrified by the implications.

To a ghoul though?

It was like a feast, fully laid out and invitation extended.

He crossed the small office and pulled his partner to the ground.

(Wei Wuxian’s nails left tracks through the wall)

_“Wei Ying_ ,” he hissed, urgent, intent, “you can resist this. Don’t lose control.”

Wei Wuxian’s head twitched his way, that reflexive movement so distinctly ghoulish by the sheer speed and he tried not to flinch away from the active _kakugan_ , veins so tensed they’d left ugly red lines trickling out from his eye. 

His partner’s breaths were stuttering, trying not to inhale.

“Lan . . . Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian’s stomach grumbled and his gaze was panicked, “I . . . _ngh_.”

“Don’t breathe in!” he whispered, flinging out a hand to cover up Wei Wuxian’s nose, flinching when those nails just cracked clean through the wall as the One-Eyed Ghoul clenched his fists.

_“Lan Zhan!_ ” Wei Wuxian hissed, high pitched and squeaky, “Sentiment appreciated! Sweaty human hand right up in my nose is _not appreciated_!!!”

He blinked and switched to pressing his white coat sleeve against Wei Wuxian’s nose instead. He didn’t flinch away as those nails shot up to grip it, the One-Eyed Ghoul inhaling the sandalwood infused fabric more desperately than an addict snorting crack.

They both sunk properly to the floor, and Lan Wangji just wrapped his spare arm around Wei Wuxian’s shoulders, glancing around warily. No one had noticed them up in the office, but he wasn’t ready to count on their location being the greatest spying alcove.

“We should get out,” he realised, grimly, “staying is too great a gamble-”

He paused as Wei Wuxian just fervently shook his head.

“ _No_ ,” he mumbled, voice muffled by the coat sleeve, “they’ll die before we can come back.”

“This is distressing to you.”

“I can deal with it,” slowly, Wei Wuxian delicately drew off the coat sleeve, closed his eyes and took in a great big inhalation of air. The veins around his _kakugan_ twitched, but when he opened them, it was only two silver eyes that stared Lan Wangji down, “what should we do next?”

Lan Wangji couldn’t stop the uneasy grinding in his gut, but to still insist they leave would be an insult to the frankly unnatural control being exhibited by the man at his side. So, he just drew himself and once more glanced over the window’s lip.

“Walking platforms are hung over the experimental room,” he reported, scanning the whole upper floor, “they are manned by guards. Across from us is another office, much larger, with tinted windows.”

“How across?”

“7 o’clock.”

Wei Wuxian took a steadying breath and pulled up beside him. He twitched, once more in direct course of the odour of blood rising to meet them, but just swallowed down the drool and glanced at the appropriate direction.

“Well, yeah, that looks like the most ‘boss’ room that I’ve seen for a while. Do you think we can go around . . . no, they’ll have guards patrolling that too. Ideally, we want to look at who’s running this place before we take it on. Hmm . . .” his gaze drifted around, before he suddenly stiffened, sending sharp looks around the ceiling of the ward and then slowly moving to the ceiling of their office.

“Wei Ying?”

“Sky lights.” the other pointed it out, “One every twenty metres, both laterally and longitudinally. If you count the ones need the tinted window then there should be one about five metres in the office.”

Lan Wangji nodded, and got to his feet, handing Wei Wuxian back his mask. The Black Rabbit met him with a slight chuckle, once more concealing his face.

“Ready?”

Lan Wangji just held out his hands together as a foothold. Black Rabbit let out a huff, before dancing lightly over and stepping up. Lan Wangji hurled him up and the One-Eyed Ghoul smashed clean through the sky light, landing on the ceiling above with a thump. A moment later, two long black tendrils unfurled down. He reached out to grab one in each hand, and the _rinkaku_ immediately twisted securely around his wrists. He held himself steady as Wei Wuxian lifted him up onto the roof, using his hands to grab Lan Wangji’s torso and pull him properly through as his _rinkaku_ stayed steady. The moon was high above them, as they crouched beside the broken skylight. Wei Wuxian danced along the roof with enviable ease, the two _rinkaku_ tendrils he’d unfurled wafting back and forth to give additional balance.

His barked laugh caught Lan Wangji’s attention.

“The skylights are tinted too - no wonder no one’s looked down and had a heart attack . . . which one was the office one again?”

“Four down, three left,” he recalled, and Wei Wuxian danced around, hands clasped behind his back.

“Ah, geez, is there anything you can’t remember?” he laughed, in a visibly better mood now that they were in the fresh air, “Seriously, you’re just too good, White.”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, yes~”

They counted the skylights, softening their footsteps as the moved across the roof, crouching down above the chosen skylight. Wei Wuxian whistled.

“Oh, it’s this one, all right. That’s a boss if I’ve ever seen one.”

Lan Wangji joined him, and immediately frowned.

“I do not recognise this mask.”

“Honestly? I barely know him. He only really began showing up like, five months ago,” Wei Wuxian sat back on his heels, tapping his chin thoughtfully, as beneath, a ghoul gazed out the viewing window, a mask shaped like a half-melted face resting on the desk beside him, “Wen . . . Zhao? Zhou? Honestly, I know him better as . . .”

A door beneath them bashed them open, and they both hunkered down, silent, as a pair of ghouls swaggered in, a tall, leering man with a woman clinging to his side.

Lan Wangji’s gaze briefly flashed up when Wei Wuxian clicked his tongue in distaste.

“Yeah. _His_ stooge.”

“Second Master,” the ghoul already in the office bowed, as the pair approached the window. Lan Wangji frowned, as the title clicked.

“Wen Chao?” he mumbled under his breath.

Wei Wuxian gave a short, aborted nod.

As the trio beneath spoke, Lan Wangji turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

“. . . shipped out to the headquarters. My dumb oaf of a brother is spitting - his favourite pet got murdered and Father’s tightening down operations. These need to be completed by the end of the week . . .”

“So, the main family is definitely involved.” He mused, displeased at how much more complicated that was going to make things.

Wei Wuxian laughed softly, “Was there really any doubt? The Sun Corporation had all the rights to Dusk Creek. No way in hell Wen Ruohan didn’t know what his son as doing.”

(Wen Ruohan.)

Lan Wangji grimaced. Director Nie was going to have a field day. Lan Xichen would probably pass out from stress.

“We should go - I will inform Brother-”

Some deeply entrenched battle instinct pinged in both of them and they barely had time to split apart as a shape burst through the roof.

Wen Zhuliu, mask in place, settled neatly down beside the new hole in the roof. All too calmly, a long auburn mass of cells swarmed out from his shoulder, hardening around his right hand to form an immense claw. Wen Chao leapt up beside him with a sneer, not even bothering with a mask, and without the woman, as he laughed.

“So, you’re the two little rodents who took down the Xuanwu,” he laughed, grinning, _kakugan_ alight, “I’ll hand it to you - that one was _nasty_. He almost ripped off my head last time I got near.”

“Pity we killed it before it could!” Wei Wuxian chirped pleasantly, crouching down on the opposite side of the trio to Lan Wangji.

(He shook off the chill as Wei Wuxian’s voice switched easily to the deep, arrogantly crooning tone he loved to adopt when masked)

Wen Chao immediately frowned slightly, turning to glare. “What’s a scrap like you know? I’m part of the Wen Clan, and you _know_ what that means.”

“Mm,” Wei Wuxian gave him a very notable once over, “they must be so _thrilled_ whenever they have to acknowledge that.”

“You _dick_ -!”

“What is your purpose here?” Lan Wangji interrupted calmly, because someone had to be the adult here. Wen Chao jumped back, sneering.

“What’s it to you?”

“Creating artificial ghouls is deeply against the balance of power established in this city.”

“Who cares? Who can do anything about it?” Wen Chao threw his hands up in the air, “We’re making this city a better place! Humans are so dumb and helpless and underfoot - we’re lifting them up to a better existence.”

“Yeah, because torturous and/or fatal experimentation is something to be thankful for,” Wei Wuxian’s voice twisted, sneering, “and why are you so smug about it? Artificial ghouls were invented by the Yiling Patriarch. Shouldn’t you have his permission? Shouldn’t your dear daddy have asked Yunmeng Jiang about their technology? Your clan is being awfully _arrogant_.”

Wen Chao flushed, cheeks rude, “You . . . Wen Zhuliu! Kill them! I’ll offer their _kagune_ to Father as a gift!”

In a moment of commitment, Wen Zhuliu went for the much more serious looking threat, turning to strike with deadly force at the White Rabbit. As such he barely dodged the five black _rinkaku_ that slammed into the roof, right where his critical organs had been.

“FUCKING SHIT!” Wen Chao stumbled back from the monstrous _kagune_ as it unfurled into all its majesty. Wen Zhuliu twisted back, blocking the next volley of strikes with his claw before moving to swipe in retaliation. Wei Wuxian leapt high above, _rinkaku_ fanned around him and Wen Zhuliu couldn’t avoid the fist that drove hard into his _kakuhou_ ’s exposed ridge. He flinched back in surprise, but the White Rabbit had already rolled away as the Black Rabbit came back down, five _rinkaku_ sharpened into stakes directly down. Wen Zhuliu immediately skittered across the roof as Wei Wuxian joined Lan Wangji’s side, kept aloft by his _kagune_.

“Hah, _kokakus_ are so slow-”

Wei Wuxian’s gleeful snigger cut off as a volley of red spikes struck towards them, a couple of his tendrils immediately twitching up in defence of him and his partner, “Oi! Rude!”

Wen Chao snarled, his lone red _ukaku_ wing wafting behind his left shoulder, “Get them! For fuck’s sake, it’s just two rodents!”

“They’re covering each other,” Wen Zhuliu pointed out, visibly clenching his jaw as his _kokaku_ shrunk down to a much more hand fitting size, not taking anything away from the razor-sharp edges to each talon.

“DO I LOOK LIKE I GIVE A FUCK?!”

Wen Zhuliu didn’t respond, just advanced, roof tearing under the force of his steps. 

And in that moment, Wei Wuxian dropped back onto his feet and his _rinkaku_ whipped around to strike at Wen Chao. Wen Zhuliu stumbled, twisting as his master screamed, and Lan Wangji didn’t need a better opening.

Bichen unfurled in a fluid clip of his briefcase, striking forward in a well-oiled swing as he met the ghoul midway, quinque striking clean through flesh. He frowned as he was forced to dodge away, the much, _much_ faster defensive claw strike tearing up his black outer coat.

Unacceptable.

He had missed the head.

Wen Chao shrieked as Wen Zhuliu’s left arm hit the roof, the ghoul himself dancing back, eyeing the weapon intently. No more interested in staying under the radar, he shed his now ruined outer garment, his white long coat stark under the darkened night sky.

“You’re a dove. You’re a _human_.” Wen Zhuliu rumbled, and Wei Wuxian laughed, high and pleased, as he draped an arm over Lan Wangji’s shoulder, his _rinkaku_ twitching about him like marionette strings.

“What was that you were saying about humans being helpless?” he jeered, “Now, just stay there, nice and quiet, and we won’t take your head too.”

“What kind of fucking shit is this?!” Wen Chao just demanded, “A human _and_ a ghoul? Are you fucking psychos?”

“Let’s remember who’s torturing humans to create an artificial ghoul army and then re-evaluate who’s the psycho here. So. You coming~?”

Wen Chao spat, “Wen Zhuliu!”

“Oh, come on, his arm’s . . .” in a macabre squelch of flesh, the limb regenerated, bones growing, muscle and skin forming over the top and Wei Wuxian tilted his head, “gone?”

Wen Zhuliu struck as he spoke and Lan Wangji shoved his partner back, Bichen coming up to meet the claw, deflecting the blow in time to duck away from a kick that could liquify his ribs. Sparks shone in the dark as the two bioweapons collided, and Lan Wangji tried not to observe just how close they were from the edge of the roof.

(He was fully aware, after all, that the only person who would die from that fall was him.)

Wen Zhuliu kicked again, but in the moment that Lan Wangji dodged, the _kokaku_ suddenly bulged, taking a far greater size and slamming into him. He grimaced behind his mask as he ground his heels in, impact ricocheting through his torso, the melted mask in front of him cold and unemotional.

And suddenly there was no more mask.

Both men jumped as Wei Wuxian danced back, once more using his _rinkaku_ to walk, mask in hand and a loud laugh blossoming up.

“Oh, _now_ I get why I haven’t seen you much. You’re a _fake_!”

Lan Wangji startled, turning. 

Sure enough, only one of Wen Zhuliu’s eyes was aglow with a _kakugan_ , those same unhealthily stressed veins lighting up half his face in the same manner that Song Zichen’s had.

And then a _rinkaku_ was wrapped around his waist and Wei Wuxian yanked him to safety, out from Wen Zhuliu’s strike.

“Be careful, White,” he warned, smile in his voice, “One-Eyed Ghouls always have powerful regeneration.”

“Even artificial ones?”

“Mm. There’s enough of their original human cells to power them up.” He straightened up, “So what’s all this about? A bunch of ghouls stick a monster’s organs in you and that’s a reason to be grateful? Seems like you’re just a successful experiment turned lackey.”

“I owe my life to the Wen family,” Wen Zhuliu frowned, “I would be nothing without them. Give me my mask back.”

“This ugly thing?” Wei Wuxian hummed and then snapped it clean in two. “Oh. Whoops!”

Lan Wangji turned his mask to stare down his partner wearily, but just glanced back, Bichen up as Wen Zhuliu suddenly lunged at them, a vicious snarl on his face.

Wei Wuxian clicked his tongue, settling back onto his feet and crouching low. His _rinkaku_ thrashed _,_ striking out for the artificial ghoul’s limbs, catching all four, with an additional two tendrils wrapping around the _kokaku_ guarded arm.

“White!” he called, loud and clear, “I can deal with him!”

Lan Wangji blinked, nodded shortly and backed up. Wei Wuxian cracked his neck, and his _rinkaku_ exploded to a total of fifteen different tendrils all vying for his control. Wen Zhuliu stumbled, gaze flickering with shock, preparing himself for the onslaught and in the moment of distraction, Lan Wangji danced over the roof and rammed his blade into Wen Chao’s none too subtly retreating back.

The ghoul shrieked as the quinque pierced clean through his torso, but his _ukaku_ still flickered, trying to snap Lan Wangji’s neck. He stepped back from the blow, yanking out the quinque in a spurt of blood as the ghoul hit the ground.

“You _bastard_!!” the man crawled over the ground, face screwed up, “You’re a _dove_! You’re not allowed to attack me-!!”

He cut off to scream as Lan Wangji just sliced off his arms and prepared to aim for the head.

“Young Master!”

He glanced down to find the woman standing there, a pager in her hands, and _kakugan_ bright with glee, “Reinforcements are on their way!!”

Lan Wangji glared, vaulting back easily from the _ukaku_ ’s volley and absently shooting the woman in the knee as he landed.

“Black!”

“I heard,” Wei Wuxian’s back hit his, his head twitching side to side, “Let’s go.”

“We’d be abandoning-”

“Contact your CCG.”

Wen Zhuliu stumbled at them, five of his limbs now spread across the roof and his right arm filled with rapid, regenerating punctures.

Wen Chao was stumbling back up, the woman now up on the roof and holding out his severed limbs to rejoin them, her red tipped _bikaku_ flickering anxiously.

“We can defeat them.”

“Yeah, no kidding, but reinforcements could clear the victims.” Wei Wuxian murmured, quite reasonably and Lan Wangji nodded, making a point of memorising these three faces.

(They would _pay_ for this place)

“Well, not that it isn’t lovely meeting you all~” Wei Wuxian suddenly called out, “but we’ll be off now!”

_“GET THEM!_ ”

Lan Wangji pivoted around Wei Wuxian, deflecting the strike from the _kokaku_ and shooting the artificial ghoul point blank in the face. In the same moment, Wei Wuxian’s _rinkaku_ hooked around his waist and the One-Eyed Ghoul hurled them off the roof.

Lan Wangji reached out, catching Wei Wuxian’s eye as they plummeted down the cliffside, dimly aware of the screaming man above him.

The tree line was rapidly approaching.

“Wei Ying.”

The ghoul didn’t visibly react.

“ _Wei Ying!_ ”

“Yes, I’m on it, Lan Zhan, trust this XianXian.”

They hit the canopy and Lan Wangji tightened his grip, eyes closing, awaiting the impact.

Instead, they bounced, caught in the air.

“You can open your eyes Lan Zhan.”

Wei Wuxian was definitely grinning, and Lan Wangji pinched him on principle as he peered around. The approximate twelve tendrils had lashed out, securing themselves on various branches and catching the pair in what was functionally a safety net. Wei Wuxian gently let him go and the tendrils still around his waist lowered him to the ground. With a snap, the rest of the _rinkaku_ disintegrated and Wei Wuxian dropped down neatly beside him.

High above them, they could see deep silhouettes against the night sky, approaching down the mountainside.

“Reinforcements?”

“Most likely,” Wei Wuxian thought for a moment, before brightening, “let’s get to the car!”

He caught his wrist, “A-Yuan is there.”

The One-Eyed Ghoul beamed, “Exactly!”

He took off with an explanation and Lan Wangji cursed Wei Wuxian’s terrible babysitting skills, taking off after him.

He was close, but Wei Wuxian was already lifting the toddler out of the car.

“Xian-gege, what’s going on?”

“Wei Ying, put him back.”

“A-Yuan, look above us,” the toddler tipped his head back, blinking, far more adept at seeing the small pack of descending ghouls, “get them.”

“ _Wei Ying_ -!”

A-Yuan’s _kakugan_ lit up and Lan Wangji stumbled back as two huge _ukaku_ bloomed from his shoulder, flaming red and almost double the size of the car, intense enough that they almost curved in and connected back together at the top.

(The halo of fire)

Wei Wuxian hoisted him high in the air and the _ukaku_ hardened with a ripple. Red shards shot up through the sky. Cries echoed through the night as the advancing silhouettes were subjected to the immense volley, almost three _ukaku_ worth of shards hurling into the sky.

Wei Ying turned to him, beaming.

“Like I said - an asset!”

Lan Wangji kicked him in the back of his knees.

“You are a _terrible babysitter.”_

_“Ow, ow, ow_ , Lan Zhan so mean. This Xianxian was just trying to be efficient. Babies don’t know how to limit their _kagune_ formation so they’re always OP - very useful in a perilous situation!”

Lan Wangji took a deep breath and instead turned to where the toddler had fallen fast asleep in Wei Wuxian’s arms.

“He’s a Wen?”

(The distinct _kagune_ of the Wen family was too infamous for him not to be)

Wei Wuxian shrugged, “I told you I babysat Wen Xu’s kid.”

“You told me he was your friend’s _nephew_.”

“He is! The friend is A-Ning!”

Lan Wangji pinched him again, turning to his car as his partner whined. “I will alert the CCG. Then we should leave.”

“Got it,” Wei Wuxian placed the sleeping toddler down, quickly pulling out his phone and rapidly texting.

“What are you doing?”

“Messaging Song Zichen. They can take any artificial ghouls who might have been successfully made.”

Lan Wangji blinked, “The CCG-”

“Is just as likely to kill them.” Wei Wuxian responded blandly and Lan Wangji felt his gaze drop. “I’m sure they might have a long hard talk about it, but just having none being there will make it more efficient and less likely for the Wens to remove any of their victims.”

“. . . Right. Let’s go.”

Messages sent, the pair got into the car and pulled away from Phoenix Hospital.

Wei Wuxian was hungry.

He was occupying himself, playing with the sleeping toddler in his lap by poking ticklish toes, but his stomach was still growling rather persistently.

Lan Wangji sent him another glance.

“Are you all right?”

“I’ll be fine,” Wei Wuxian dismissed, grinning as the sleeping child wiggled, “Hauling out fifteen tendrils is always an experience. It’s like suddenly get the sensory input of fifteen additional limbs. Kind of makes me nauseous.”

“Is fifteen your limit?”

“Honestly? No clue. I’ve never bothered to count my maximum.” He groaned and sat back. His stomach rumbled again. “Shijie thinks I once brought out something like twenty when I was a kid.”

“Would you like us to stop for food?”

“I have some at home. Moreover, I should probably get this one into an actual bed.”

Lan Wangji frowned, resolved to bring Wei Wuxian food tomorrow, and made for the apartment in Yiling.

He waited for Wei Wuxian to pull out the slowly awakening toddler, along with his drawstring bag, before locking the car and leading the pair back up to the third-floor apartment.

He opened the door and regretted it immediately.

“WHERE?! _HAVE?!_ YOU?! BEEN?!”

Standing in Wei Wuxian’s entryway was the most visibly pissed off woman he had ever met. Her fists were red against her hips, her eyes were ablaze behind her glasses and he really hoped he was just imagining her long brown ponytail being batted around by her incensed aura.

Wei Wuxian just popped his head around Lan Wangji’s side and blinked.

“Oh, hey, Wen Qing.”

“DON’T YOU ‘HEY WEN QING’ ME YOU PIECE OF oh baby, come here, let Auntie have a good look at you.”

Wen Yuan eagerly bounced over to her suddenly crooning toon, throwing himself into her arms with a cheery laugh. She tutted, glancing over his clothes.

“Look, you’re all filthy. Wei Wuxian!” her head snapped up and Wei Wuxian smiled innocently, herding in Lan Wangji to close his door behind them. “You have _five seconds_ to explain why on this good earth-!”

“And I will, _if_ you stop looking like you’re about to vivisect me in my own kitchen.”

“I will look at you however I want!” Satisfied that her nephew was in one piece, the woman got to her feet, ignoring Lan Wangji as she jabbed a finger at their mutual acquaintance, “House empty, no _text_ , _masks gone_.”

“Well, in my defence, I didn’t think you’d find out.”

Lan Wangji wasn’t sure if that final comment was the final deal breaker or if it was the cheery grin on his friend’s face. Either way, the next moment he got all the confirmation he needed that he had met another ghoul when Wen Qing crossed the apartment, dragged Wei Wuxian to the ground and broke his elbows, all in the time it took him to blink.

And then he startled. “Wei Ying!”

“Ow ow ow ow!” Wei Wuxian tried to wrestle free, but she had both arms in a secure hold, “Let me _go,_ it’ll heal crooked!”

“That’s fine. I can just break them again.”

“Haven’t you made a vow that says you’re meant to _not_ hurt people?”

“Na-ah, Daozhang’s the one who doesn’t believe in violence. I just took the Hippocratic Oath. I can’t use my knowledge to hurt _patients_. Very nice loophole right there.”

Wei Wuxian bared his teeth, awkwardly rolled to the side and then _bit._

Wen Qing hissed as teeth sunk into her arm, but she retaliated with hooking her leg around his and pushing.

Lan Wangji just hovered, a baffled mix of anxious and confused, as Wei Wuxian fought valiantly to prevent his leg getting snapped.

A hand caught his own.

“Don’t worry, Lan-gege,” A-Yuan smiled innocently up at him, “they always do this. Granny says they have anger issues.”

“Your Granny is slandering me!” Wei Wuxian’s voice echoed from where the two ghouls were scuffling on the kitchen tiles. “Your Aunt, certainly. _I_ am wonderfully civilised.”

“Civilise this, you irresponsible piece of trash!” Wen Qing roared, and hefted him up to hurl him onto the couch.

The One-Eyed Ghoul landed with a grunt.

“God, my neighbours are going to think I am having some _violent_ hate sex in here.”

Wen Qing punched his gut, the groan thankfully distracting from the sudden burning in Lan Wangji’s ears.

“Don’t say that in front of A-Yuan!” 

“Hey, _I’m_ not the one he picked up the s-word from!”

“Shit!” The toddler announced proudly and all three adults in the room froze.

Wen Qing sighed.

“Yeah, that one was on me.”

Lan Wangji huffed, crouching down to meet A-Yuan’s eyes.

“Gentleman shouldn’t say such things.”

A-Yuan stared at him with wide eyes, nodding happily. The two ghouls on the couch glanced at each other.

“He needs a bath. And it’s way past his bedtime.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“I have a shift starting at 4am tomorrow, you little shhhhhhhizzwhizzle, so I do not want to stay here _any_ longer than necessary.”

“I’m not keeping you.”

“Then get moving, you half-blood.”

“ _Actually,_ the politically _correct_ term is a One-Eyed ghoul, my _dear_!” Wei Wuxian easily swung himself over the couch, arms completely fine and hands moving over A-Yuan’s ears, “Listen to you, teaching your nephew to be a speciesist.”

“I know it’s politically incorrect,” she blinked at him, “I was trying to be mean to you.”

Lan Wangji frowned at her.

Wei Wuxian tossed his hair flippantly. “Well, ya basic. Come on, A-Yuan, let’s go have fun whilst the _boring adults_ talk.”

“Bye bye, Lan-gege!” the child waved happily at him, led away by Wei Wuxian’s hand in his own.

Wen Qing scoffed, before slowly turning her attention to the man still in the room with her.

“I suppose it goes without saying that I’ll kill you if you so much as scratch them.”

“Mm.”

She gave him a once over, before just shaking her head wearily and holding out her hand.

“Wen Qing. I’m a trauma surgeon at the Yiling ER.”

“Lan Wangji. I’m . . .”

“Oh I know,” she brushed past him, and Lan Wangji observed her pulling out one of Wei Wuxian’s _three_ coffee machines, “everyone knows about the dove stalking the Yiling Patriarch.”

He sighed.

“I am not a stalker.”

“Yeah, I guessed that bit,” she waited, heel tapping impatiently for the coffee to be done, “Jiang Wanyin has a long history of over exaggerating slights.”

“How do you know, Wei Ying?”

She paused, coffee cup freezing right before touching her lips.

“Wei ‘Ying’?” she echoed, huffing, “Same way every ghoul knows each other - you make a point of knowing all the ghouls in your Ward.”

He tilted his head, “You live in Yiling.”

“Yeah, I live here with my younger brother A-Ning.”

(Yes, Wei Wuxian had mentioned a sister)

“Are you taking A-Yuan home?”

“Probably not,” she drained the coffee and left it dirty in the sink, “he and Wei Wuxian are probably passed out in his bed right now. Moving him will just make grumpy.”

“I can lock up, if you wish to go.”

She stared at him.

“I have a spare key.”

She _really_ stared at him.

“. . . Sure.” She let out what have been a snicker. “You do that. I suppose I’ll be seeing you around, Investigator Lan.”

She waved absently and silently padded out the front door. Lan Wangji watched her back until the door shut, before mechanically cleaning up the coffee mug and checking his phone.

An alert.

An emergency meeting of Investigators was being called tomorrow evening.

(So hopefully his Brother had recovered the victims in time).

He stacked the lone mug in the dryer, switching off the few lights still on as he folded up his mask up in his coat, prepared to bury it under the loose floorboard in his closet. Moving down the short corridor Wei Wuxian had taken A-Yuan, he huffed to find most of it brightly lit. He dutifully turned off lights and the bathroom’s fan, hung up the small towel and then padded into the master bedroom.

It was exuberantly messy, which he had quite readily expected, and the double bed took up most of the small bedroom. Both Wei Wuxian and A-Yuan were already fast asleep on top of the covers, just as Wen Qing predicted.

He carefully pulled a second towel out of Wei Wuxian’s limp fingers, removed the more elaborate earrings that could get smashed during sleep and pulled the covers up around them both. He slowly backed up, prepared to retreat to the light switch.

Wei Wuxian shifted slightly,

“. . . Lan Zhan . . .”

(Lan Wangji hesitated, glancing back)

The One-Eyed Ghoul curled tighter around the toddler, face smooth of laughter lines and stress, lips ever so slightly pursed.

And under some unfathomable instinct, Lan Wangji leant down and ghosted his lips over Wei Wuxian’s forehead.

“Good night, Wei Ying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT IS HERE!!!! IT IS DONE!!
> 
> I would like to thank everyone for being so so patient with this chapter!!! I know it's late, so I hope the extra length made up for it!!  
> I spent all of last week working on my Christmas writing challenge fic (so feel free to check that out wink wink)
> 
> Alternate Chapter Title: What the fuck is all of this exposition?
> 
> me: wow the acronym of the Stygian Tiger Seal sounds like a drug  
> me: softly gasps
> 
> Also, you heard it here folks, LWJ is definitely Not catching feelings
> 
> I am playing hard and fast with the artificial ghoul creation process here but you cannot tell me that a body that has limbs that can instantly generate and disintegrate wouldn't decompose super fast.  
> And no way could human stomachs deal with routine cannibalism.  
> SO THIS IS HOW IT WILL BE
> 
> Once again, thank you for all your wonderful comments and support!  
> I am hoping to once again return to some regular tuesday updates!!


	6. remember me as vivid as I was

Lan Xichen wasn’t at home when Lan Wangji went to sleep, nor was he there when he pulled himself down to the kitchen after another shamefully sloven 5.15 wake up.

Presumably, he had not even _left_ the CCG HQ after the literal mess Lan Wangji had silently dumped into his lap without any context.

He checked his phone as he mechanically made toast.

The emergency meeting tonight was going to be _fun_.

(He at least tried to cover some of his building work for university, but it was a fair point to say he was distracted)

The meeting as, as he’d presumed, complete chaos. Countless division leaders and captain all shouting over each other in outrage, his Brother’s considerably intelligence wasted as he was forcefully relegated to mediator.

He almost felt bad as he sat, thoroughly inattentive, in the emergency meeting, discussions of rehabilitation and medical housing for the evacuated missing persons flying over his head, disengaging from the planning of raids to what would be a long abandoned secret medical wing.

He even felt his Brother’s eyes drifting to him, more than once, constantly looking his way for help because this _was_ Lan Wangji’s text that had tipped them off, but he didn’t like talking at these things at the best of times and having Investigator Yao spitting his ear was a notably _bad_ time.

All he cared about was that no artificial ghouls had been retrieved, which meant Xiao Xingchen and Song Xichen had hopefully gotten there first, and no one had made the connection to the Wen Clan.

The meeting clocked over to 2am.

And Inspector loudly protested that there wasn’t any evidence that is _was_ ghoul activity and thus not their problem.

He buried his face in his hands and tried not to groan.

University was the last place he wanted to be, but he nevertheless dragged himself to campus for his morning lectures, only really looking forward to the climb up the Tavern.

(Unfortunately, that was also . . . somewhat complicated)

“XIAN-GEEEEEEEEE! PLEASE! I’m BEEEEEGGING YOU!”

“A-Yu, I’m holding coffee!!”

Lan Wangij breached the third floor to find Wei Wuxian part of the way to their table, balancing a tray of coffees and his books, whilst another kid tried to wrap all four of his limbs around him.

The three stared at each other.

“I can come back?” He offered and Wei Wuxian threw out his spare hand.

“No, no, no, this is fine-!”

“This is _not_ fine, I have an in-class on _friday_ and you _promised_ to tutor me!”

“Tutor, yes. Teach you the entire half semester’s worth of info? Fuck that!”

“ _Don’t abandon meeee!!”_

Lan Wangji took it upon himself to claim the coffee tray, setting it down on their table and then retrieving Wei Wuxian’s textbooks.

He flashed him a smile.

“Thanks, Lan Zhan.”

The clinging other finally paused and looked up. He looked similar to be a close relative of Wei Wuxian, also bearing a pair of silver eyes, but with a much slimmer figurer and oval face, artfully enhanced with enough makeup to make Nie Huaisang jealous. A rainbow tattoo was poking out from his shirt, right on the collarbone.

And he was squinting up at Lan Wangji.

“Um, okay, was anybody going to tell me that your stalker is immensely attractive or was I just supposed to find that out myself?”

“He’s not my stalker,” Wei Wuxian responded with the sort of automatic irritation one gains after repeating a phrase slightly too many times.

“Wei Ying is more attractive,” Lan Wangji pointed out at the same time, tone equally matter of fact.

The third party stared between them, face contorting, an odd conflict between understanding and irritation.

“Lan Zhan really is too sweet,” Wei Wuxian laughed, that warm laugh that took up his whole being, somehow successfully prying off his limpet now that he had access to two hands, “Anyway, sorry I didn’t text in advance, but do you mind if A-Yu joins us?”

“A promise is a promise.” Lan Wangji nodded, inwardly mourning that they wouldn’t being able to just enjoy their time together, but he wasn’t actually a stalker, no matter what Jiang Wanyin believed, and he would not monopolise Wei Wuxian’s time.

(Though, if this one knew that title, he could take a well-informed guess as to which of Wei Wuxian’s circles this newcomer came from)

“A-Yu, this is Lan Zhan, or Lan Wangji,” Wei Wuxian more formally introduced as they all sat down, “Lan Zhan, this is Mo Xuanyu, a JAFFY doing biochem, like me.”

“JAFFY?” he echoed, perplexed. Presumably it was some sort of university lingo, but he had never bothered to keep up with it.

“Just Another Fucking First Year,” Mo Xuanyu filled in, yanking out about a kilo of palm cards, and hurling them at Wei Wuxian.

The One-Eyed Ghoul yelped, ducking the volley of paper, “Jesus! _Obviously,_ it means Just Another _Fantastic_ -!”

“Just. Another. Fucking. First Year. Oh, and I’m crashing at your place until after that in-class is done.”

“A-Yu. Why. Why must you do this?”

“Asshole Cousin has defied God himself and somehow become More of an Asshole. I am not dealing with him _and_ cramming.”

“Move out.”

“With what money? I’d rather just live with you.”

Wei Wuxian stuck out his tongue. Lan Wangji sent him a stern look.

“Focus,” he interjected, and Wei Wuxian settled down, grinning.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry. It’s not actually _that_ hard to pass Biochem 1.”

“Easy for you to say,” Mo Xuanyu glanced between the two of them, “have you ever _not_ been the top of a subject?”

Wei Wuxian tilted his head back, and thought for a long, unnecessary moment.

“You know . . .”

“Oh, stop bullshitting me.”

“Yeah, you’re right, it’s never happened~”

Lan Wangji just sighed, pulled out his lecture notes from last week and got to reading. Despite the opening chaos, Wei Wuxian proved himself to be a very good tutor, easily walking his friend through concepts and formula and sets of compounds that made Lan Wangji’s head hurt just by listening in.

They’d made a solid half hour of progress, when Mo Xuanyu apparently got bored.

“So, like, how long have you two been together?”

They both paused. Lan Wangji stared over blankly as Wei Wuxian went bright red.

“. . . Umm, A-Yu?” he sounded vaguely strangled, glancing at Lan Wangji, “We’re not together?”

Mo Xuanyu glanced between them and frowned, “Bullshit.”

“We are not.” Lan Wangji sent him a slight glare and the first year stiffened, shifting his seat closer to Wei Wuxian, but not losing his scowl.

“Um, Xian-ge? You are _never_ this obedient? With anyone? Even the Great Madam Qing has to whack you a new one to get you to do anything.”

“That’s because you’re all mean and rude,” Wei Wuxian poked him with a pen tip, leaving a lovely blue spot on the younger’s nose, “whereas Lan Zhan is considerate and sweet and nice, so of course I’m on board with his ideas.”

Mo Xuanyu sent Lan Wangji a very surprised look. “. . . Really?”

Wei Wuxian absently whacked the back of his head. “Like I said. Y’all are rude.”

“It is fine. Most people think that of me.” He appeased Wei Wuxian. Because it _was_ true that, despite his best friend’s insistence on the contrary, most people left meeting Lan Wangji with very negative impressions - and the last thing they needed were any more misunderstandings between them. Wei Wuxian looked oddly stricken though, and he frowned.

“It is of no matter. Study.”

“Right,” Wei Wuxian glanced back at the books.

Mo Xuanyu threw up his hands.

“Look, do you want my help or not?”

“Yesyesyes, this one deeply appreciates your time, oh gracious Lord.”

They fell back into silence, and Lan Wangji couldn’t help the sneaky look at his partner.

He looked no different to normal, though the intense smudges under his eyes seemed to be indicating a considerable amount of makeup being used to hide bruises. His arms dragged before even forty minutes had passed.

And Lan Wangji wasn’t the only one who’d picked up something was off.

Mo Xuanyu was squinting at him.

“Hey, do you want to get a snack this evening?” he asked, before rapidly glancing at Lan Wangji, “Like, from a vending machine, or a cafe, or a-!!”

“A-Yu, stop talking.”

“Gladly.”

“You are hungry?” Lan Wangji frowned at his friend, “You said you would get something to eat at your apartment.”

“Yeah, but I overslept and had to get A-Yuan over to his Granny’s place, and _then_ Jiang Cheng was a bitch and signed me up for a Sunday double shift even though he _knew_ I had to finish that stupid essay, and then I had my dumb fucking lab this morning and you _know_ I’m never up early enough to eat before it.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Mo Xuanyu asked again, leaning in a bit closer, expression pinched. Wei Wuxian just grinned, tucking a strand of his junior’s hair back.

(And what was _that_ reaction in his gut?)

“I _’_ m _fine,_ stop being such a worrywart A-Yu. I know my limits, yeah? I’m not anywhere near a burnout just yet.”

Mo Xuanyu frowned, “If you say so . . .”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji leant in as Wei Wuxian’s attention reverted back to him, “I can bring you food.”

“Really?! Ah, you’re the _best_ , Lan Zhan-!”

“To your house,” he frowned, “You should stay home tomorrow, if you are too tired to focus. You only have lectures tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but that’s a lot of lectures, Lan Zhan. I don’t want to rewatch them all.”

“Far better to watch in bed with food, then at university feeling ill.”

“Urgh, you drive a hard bargain.” Wei Wuxian rested his elbow on the table, cheek moving to his fist with a grin, “Lan Zhan~ you’re really spoiling me.”

(Good)

“I will come to your apartment tomorrow then.”

(Mo Xuanyu choked. On nothing, as far as Lan Wanji could tell)

Because he didn’t quite trust Wei Wuxian’s ability to willingly stay inside a building when he could be doing otherwise behaviours outside of it, he decided to wait outside of Wei Wuxian’s lab building.

(Just in case)

He hadn’t done it except for that one time, all those weeks ago, when he’d felt anxious about the possibility of Wei Wuxian getting targeted as a meal by Jiang Cheng.

(He almost wished that was the only thing he was anxious about this time around)

Unlike then, as the students spilled out and he picked out Wei Wuxian’s usual cloud of friends, the one figure in black and red was distinctly missing. He picked out the moment they noticed him, all pausing, turning inwards and then one of them split off and came right up to his side.

He’d seen Shi Qingxuan often enough to recognise her by face, dipping his head in greeting as she reached him.

“You’d be Lan Wangji, yeah?” she asked, eyebrow arched and waving a hand fan to ward off the worst of the humidity. “Wei-xiong’s not here today. Jiang-xiong messaged us - he’s off sick.”

Anxiety coiled in his gut as he bowed his head in silent thanks.

His gloom was interrupted as the woman clapped him on the shoulder, grinning.

“Don’t worry, he’s always bounced back from shit like this. And rest easy - we’re all cheering you on!”

She gave him a thumbs up and then hurried back after the pack, looking inordinately pleased with herself.

Lan Wangji just shook off the behaviour, made sure his small box of curry was still airtight, before making for the train and catching a lift into Yiling.

He’d actually parked outside of Yiling’s train station (before then catching the train to the university’s campus in the first place) in anticipation of heading over to Wei Wuxian’s complex.

He’d barely stopped the car before he was jumping out, grabbing the box of curry and then making his way up three levels of apartments.

He rang the doorbell, just as normal, and waited for the footsteps on the other side to arrive as he unlocked the front door and began to remove his shoes.

Though in hindsight, he could have remembered that Mo Xuanyu was temporarily living with Wei Wuxian, as the other stumbled out and froze to find him already inside.

The first year just gaped at him, “Lan Wangji?!”

“Good afternoon.”

“Oh, um, right, _hi_ , What Are You Doing Here?”

“Wei Ying.”

“ _Right_ ,” Mo Xuanyu firmly stood his ground, blocking the entryway, smile tight as Lan Wangji tried to push his way in, “Look, I’ll tell him you dropped by, but trust me, he’s pretty sick. He wouldn’t want you to catch it, so just head off and he’ll message-”

“Mo Xuanyu.”

“Y-yes?!”

He blinked, “I am aware Wei Ying is a ghoul.”

Mo Xuanyu straightened in the doorway, tight desperation being replaced with understanding.

Then black spread across his sclera, his iris pulsed red and Lan Wangji darted back just before a red tentacle struck his position.

Perhaps . . . that was not the best statement to lead in with.

“I mean Wei Ying no harm,” he tried to assure, dodging another three strikes from the thin _rinkaku_. Mo Xuanyu just narrowed his eyes, visibly disbelieving as he crouched low, his four tentacles oozing around his shoulders, preparing for another strike.

And then he went flying back into the apartment.

(Lan Wangji blinked)

Wei Wuxian appeared in the door, grinning, and Lan Wangji stared at him in alarm. Aside from the old t-shirt and blanket he was wrapped up in, his entire face appeared to be red, and his eyes were visibly bloodshot.

“Lan Zhan!”

“Go back to bed.”

“Oh, wow, not even a greeting,” Wei Wuxian didn’t glance back as he caught the returning Mo Xuanyu, “and just what are you doing, A-Yu?”

The younger ghoul stared between, faintly aghast, “He _knows_!!”

“Yeah.”

“Why is he still fucking alive?!”

“Because we’re friends.”

“You’re friends with Hanguang-Jun, and you’re both _aware of it_?!”

(Lan Wangji felt his curiosity ping)

Mo Xuanyu, meanwhile, let out a faint whimper, “Oh, I’m dead. I’m so dead. The Sandu Shengshou is going to fry me. And then give me to the my _aunt_.”

“No one’s handing anyone over to any twisted relatives,” Wei Wuxian stepped aside, dragging Mo Xuanyu with him as he gestured for Lan Wangji to enter. He did so, joining the pair on the way down to the hall.

“So so so, what has Lan Zhan brought?”

“Curry.”

“Ah! Your curry’s _soo_ good!” Wei Wuxian danced through his apartment, surprisingly sprightly considering he looked half-dead already, “This XianXian is getting far too spoilt.”

“You should have it later. Something less solid would be good for now,” he inspected the curry, before making for the kitchen, “this will keep.”

“Here, I can do that,” Mo Xuanyu offered, glancing between the two of them, “Why you two, umm, _goo-?”_

“Wei Ying should go back to bed,” Lan Wangji agreed, taking Wei Wuxian’s wrist and dragging him straight back to the bedroom, ignoring both his partner’s indignant squawk and Mo Xuanyu’s coughing.

(Did the ghoul have some sort of breathing problem?)

The room was, somehow, messier than last he’d entered it, the bed all rumpled and Wei Wuxian’s laptop balancing on its side to provide him entertainment.

He fixed Wei Wuxian with a hard look until the One-Eyed Ghoul grumbled and shuffled back under the big doona, fiddling with the cover.

“This is bullying,” Wei Wuxian protested, as Lan Wangji habitually straightened out the sheets around them.

He nodded absently.

“Wei Ying is not the sort to listen if spoken to gently.”

Wei Wuxian snorted at that and Lan Wangji felt the ghost of a smile rise up.

“This is definitely hunger induced?”

“Oh yeah,” Wei Wuxian winced, “I haven’t eaten in a bit, now. Normally I’m more careful than this.”

“I will make you something now. Have the curry later.”

Wei Wuxian let his head roll to the side, grinning lopsidedly.

Mo Xuanyu was choking in the doorway again and they both turned to inspect the struggling man.

“A-Yu,” Wei Wuxian glanced at his junior pointedly, “weren’t you going out this afternoon?”

Mo Xuanyu swallowed, blinking at him, “Right. Yes. That sounds _excellent._ I’ll see you . . . both? Around.”

He snatched his own set of keys and sprinted back out of the hallway.

Lan Wangji listened as the younger ghoul went out the front door, feet rapidly retreating.

He immediately turned back to Wei Wuxian.

“Hanguang-Jun?”

Wei Wuxian stared at him, blood slowly draining from his face. With a pitchy yelp, he reached down and hauled the covers under his face.

“Nothing!”

“Wei Ying.”

“You heard absolutely nothing!”

“That is a lie.” he gripped the covers, yanking them back, tussling with the One-Eyed Ghoul hiding under them, the pair rolling about, blanket snagging their legs.

Lan Wangji arched an eyebrow, successfully pinning Wei Wuxian underneath him.

“Speak.” He demanded, lips on the verge of tweaking up as Wei Wuxian thrashed, face bright red.

“. . . nickname.”

“Pardon?” He leant closer, face right in Wei Wuxian’s, “I couldn’t hear you.”

Wei Wuxian’s face scrunched up and he stuck out his tongue. “Lan Zhan is such a bully.”

“Mm.” He waited expectantly and Wei Wuxian huffed quite dramatically.

“It’s . . . it’s a title.”

“Oh?”

“Like . . . like how you give us titles.”

“ _Oh_?” his interest grew, “So I’m Hanguang-Jun?”

“Mmmmm.”

Lan Wangji dropped his weight and grinned internally as Wei Wuxian groaned in pain.“What about Brother?”

Wei Wuxian pouted up at him and he just leant down, right to his ear.

“I want Wei Ying to tell me.”

“AaAhH!” Wei Wuxian screeched, “You can’t _talk_ like that, Lan Zhan! My heart! My poor, poor heart!”

“Mm. Wangji is sorry.”

Wei Wuxian huffed, reaching out and fiddling with the long forelocks drooping around Lan Wangji’s eyes.

“Elder Brother Lan is Zewu-Jun.”

“. . . Director Nie?”

“Chifeng-zun.”

His voice at this point was a little surrendered squeak and Lan Wangji huffed lightly.

“You have food?”

“Yeah, it’s all in the fridge.” Wei Wuxian hid his face behind his hands, peeking through his fingers, “Are you done, Lan Zhan? Have you had your fun teasing this one?”

“I will make something for you to eat,” he simply responding, adjusting the blankets as he got up, “you should sleep.”

“But I’ve been sleeping _all day~”_ Wei Wuxian whined, “Lan Zhan should take me out to do something fun.”

He arched an eyebrow.

“Sleep.”

He closed the bedroom door on Wei Wuxian’s indignant shout, instead moving to the kitchen. The fridge was more supplied than he expected, but a closer inspection revealed various vegetables still in bags, and most of the healthier dairy products equally unopened, most marked with some sort of sticky note.

[Remember your greens, A-Xian (｡’▽’｡)♡]

[I hear that yoghurt is very good for human digestion (♡ὅ◡ὅ)ʃ♡]

[Miss Luo told me you drank out her cellar again (❁°͈▵°͈). I looked it up and apparently eggs are great for hangovers?]

Jiang Yanli’s section seemed to be doing more for Wei Wuxian’s overall health than the entire rest of the fridge and he huffed a laugh as he pulled out several vegetables.

He shifted through the rest of the fridge for various stocks, before opening the drawer marked ‘meat’.

A package wrapped tightly in butcher’s paper seem to leer out at him.

(Wei Ying would need it)

Gingerly he reached down and went to pick it up.

His finger squished, and blood seeped out and he promptly snatched up a packet of sealed beef mince and slammed the drawer shut.

(He could get some later)

Quickly turning to the stove, he found a pot, switched on the gas and began frying onions and garlic. He softened vegetables, then added the meat and stock, covering it and leaving it to cook for a bit.

And he took that moment to get a proper look around the apartment’ main room.

The kitchen overlooked the lounge room, which had a TV crammed into the corner, surrounded by rows upon rows of rock vinyls. The old couch took up most of the space, though a few other miscellaneous chairs had been crammed around them, all bearing the distinct scars of prior house parties. Arranged on a sideboard, a bit more out of the way, were a collection of photographs and he couldn’t stop himself from moving closer.

The closest, and definitely newest, was a group photo of Wei Wuxian and his pack of science friends, all six of them posing in front of a huge environmental science institute like members of a k-pop group. He’d seen Shi Qingxuan was posing in front of them all with his fan up high in the air. And then the one slightly behind him was A-Ning, from the arcade.

(Wen Ning.)

He examined the group for a slightly longer moment, before turning to the rest.

In another beside it, Wei Wuxian, Mo Xuanyu and another teen with sparkling eyes and slightly too pointy teeth were posing outside of a horror movie premier. Beside it were a whole pack of them at a music festival, mouths open in screams. Aside from Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin, he recognised no one else in the group.

A photo of Wei Wuxian and his siblings in a fancy room, Jiang Yanli clutching a tiny wrinkly newborn, all three beaming, had been placed beside a picture of what was clearly her wedding.

Wei Wuxian and the two Wen siblings, all wearing hats and sunglasses, posing outside a huge national park. A terrible quality picture of Luo Qingyang at karaoke, hands up to hide her face.

A group portrait of the Jiang Family - The Violet Spider and the Clan Leader standing strong, with probably a ten-year-old Jiang Yanli smiling in front of her mother, her scowling brother beside her, and finally a beaming Wei Wuxian, hand held tightly in his Uncle’s and missing several baby teeth.

The two at the back made him inhale.

One was a collage, multiple pictures all arranged in a single frame. Lan Wangji lifted it up lightly, blinking down at his own deadpan expression, paired next to Wei Wuxian’s happy grin in each selfie jumbled together.

The frame beside it was far older and more intricate, containing a man and a woman he didn’t recognise, holding a giggling toddler between them.

He tilted his head.

(Wei Wuxian looked terribly like his mother.)

He felt a chin rest on his shoulder.

“Hey.”

“You are meant to be asleep.”

“Got bored.” Wei Wuxian mumbled, “Lan Zhan left me all alone.”

“Mm. I’m sorry.” He gently put the frame back down, turning to the blanket burrito behind him. “Food will be done soon.”

“Lan Zhan, are you really home cooking just for this XianXian?” Wei Wuxian flopped backwards onto his couch, grinning, “You’re probably the greatest person in this whole world.”

Lan Wangji hummed noncommittally, instead testing the soup. It was all right to him.

(But for Wei Wuxian?)

He stirred in a liberal amount of chili flakes and paprika, transferring the small amount of soup into a bowl and brought it over with some chopsticks and a spoon. Wei Wuxian sat up, hair bouncing around him, his smile a bit less broad and a bit more genuine as he took it.

“Thanks,” he began carefully slurping it as Lan Wangji sat down beside him, picking out the chunks of beef.

“. . . Wei Ying?”

“Yeah?” Wei Wuxian blinked at him, mouth full. Lan Wangji thought for a moment or two, waiting for him to swallow.

“How did your parents die?”

Wei Wuxian blinked, and his gaze turned the table of photos, “Car crash. Happened when I was about six.”

Lan Wangji tilted his head. Yes, that was what had been reported but . . .

“Your mother was a ghoul.”

“It was a bad crash,” he thought for a moment, “from what Uncle Jiang tells me, they collided with a tow truck carrying pipes. Dad probably died immediately, but we think one of the pipes went straight through the windscreen and into her head. Then another pipe got her _kakuhou_ , you know? Without it, she couldn’t fix her brain. Uncle thinks . . . she probably could have dodged it? But she’d tried to save Dad, and that put her back to the incoming blow.”

He tapped the back of his waist, the location of all _rinkaku_ -based _kakuhou_. “It’s our one weak point, after all. A ghoul without their _kakuhou_ is a dead ghoul.”

Lan Wangji watched, silent, as his partner turned his attention back to his food, devouring it rapidly.

“. . . Is it helping?”

“Kind of. It’s not actually satisfying much but eating this sort of stuff at least tricks my brain into not feeling hungry.” He shoved in a slice of beef, “Like how if you eat a packet of sweets, you’re not hungry, but you’ve inhaled literally nothing good for you.”

“Is all food like that? Worth nothing?”

Wei Wuxian shrugged, grinning, “Why do you think I love spicy food? Everything else is just too bland.”

Lan Wangji frowned, and Wei Wuxian sniggered.

“One time, I was so hungry that I ripped up a whole vending machine and ate everything in it. I was out with Jiang Cheng and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so horrified in my whole life, haha! Did you know that most ghouls taste dust when they eat chips? Like actual mouthfuls of dust. He was gagging. But you know the _best_ stuff? Chocolate. I eat that shit by the _kilo._ ”

“You shouldn’t. It’s bad for you.”

“Yeah, but sugar suppresses appetite. If it’s all junk, might as well eat what’s going to stave off my hunger enough to keep me sane until I can go hunting.”

Lan Wangji’s face contorted as he sat forward, refraining from a comment on his partner’s manners as Wei Wuxian tipped up the bowl and began noisily slurping up the broth, “Is it painful?”His partner froze for a moment, before letting the bowel lower in his hands and nodding slightly. Lan Wangji tilted his head.

“How?”

Wei Wuxian just laughed, abruptly without humour, “Like . . . a million rats, gnawing on your stomach. Like constant cramps down in and over itself, again and again. Like there’s a bucket of burning coals inside you, getting dropped in piece by piece each _moment_ ou’re not eating.”

He ran a finger over his abdomen, “There’s a reason there is nothing more traumatising to a ghoul than starvation.”

“When?”

“Whenever I’m hungry,” Lan Wangji didn’t even voice his next question and Wei Wuxian’s small little hiccough was the only thing that intruded before he continued on, “and yeah, I’m always hungry. Most ghouls can get satiated for a little bit. But, hey, not this ghoul! I have too low RC levels so my body’s _always_ demanding more!!”He jabbed a finger at his face, half-heartedly cheerful and Lan Wangji just moved closer and wrapped his arms around his partner. His only friend.

(His . . . His . . . _His ._. .)

“Then why?” he asked, baffled. Wei Wuxian chuckled trickled.

“Why what, Lan Zhan? Let’s use some words, now.”

“Why do you bother with all this,” he waved his hand around the place, “Your studies. Your jobs. If your hunger is so . . . consuming, why do you not choose to involve yourself in humans? Why not . . .?”

(Why not go rogue? Why not spend his whole life hunting?)

Wei Wuxian blinked at him, before bursting into his very very _very_ obnoxious laughter.

Lan Wangji glowered on reflex.

“What?”

“Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian squeezed him, grinning, melancholy just fucking _gone_ , “I don’t think you understand. I sort of _have_ to involve myself with humanity.”

“Why?”

“Because, food is only one of FOUR basic needs and last I checked, clothes, shelter and coffee sort of require _money_. And _money_ means _jobs_. And _jobs_ are the worst thing humanity invented because they don’t pay me enough to _live.”_

Lan Wangji arched an eyebrow.

Wei Wuxian just shifted around him, fumbling around between the papers on his coffee tables.

“Like, have you _seen_ rent inflation? It’s toxic, actually toxic. And look!!!”

He found what he was looking for, a wad of boringly official looking envelopes.

“All of my _bills_ came today, Lan Zhan,” he let out a monumental sob as he dragged the envelopes across his face, “I have to pay to take a _bath_ , to use my _lights_. I have to pay for a shitty bike, that is _not worth_ the money I pour into it!”

He dropped back with a melodramatic groan and Lan Wangji just silently took back the bowl, unimpressed.

“You have a bike?”

“I know, I shouldn’t, I don’t use it enough to justify it!”

“Then why did you get it?”

Wei Wuxian left his face in the couch cushions.

“. . . Cool coloured speedy bike go vroom vroom.”

“Inadequate reason.”

“I _know_ , but I was eighteen and I was feeling _edgy_ , but hey, at least I didn’t get something pretentious like Jiang Cheng’s Lamborghini. Or the Peacock’s _Rolls-Royce!”_

He accentuated his usual disdain for brother-in-law with the usual sky reaching eye roll.

Lan Wangji huffed, “You definitely need sleep.”

“Noooo, I doooon’t!”

Lan Wangji placed the bowl near the kitchen sink and then hoisted Wei Wuxian up into his arms. The One-Eyed Ghoul squawked, trying to wriggle free, but Lan Wangji still managed to easily carry him back to the bedroom, dropping him onto the mattress.

“Sleep.”

“I’ll get bored~,” a winding smile grew on Wei Wuxian’s face, the kind that heralded mischief so precisely that a conditioned chill ran down Lan Wangji’s spine, “Lan Zhan should keep me company~”

He tapped the spot beside him on the bed invitingly.

Lan Wangji hesitated.

(If it would make him sleep . . .)

“Very well.”

Wei Wuxian blinked. “Huh?”

Lan Wangji slid off his coat, before lying down beside his partner, pulling him down. Wei Wuxian seemed to be slightly too shocked to resist.

They stared at each other, eyes wide and it might have been tense if Wei Wuxian didn’t look like he was on the verge of passing out.

He still seemed to be resisting it though, so, after a moment of thought, Lan Wangji accessed some old wisdom of his mother’s, reaching out and running his fingers over Wei Wuxian’s scalp.

The One-Eyed Ghoul stiffened.

“. . . Is this not fine?”

“No,” he squeaked, voice muffled into the pillow, “no, it’s fine.”

“Mm.”

Wei Wuxian and he rested in silence, save for the occasional rustle of Lan Wangji’s fingers in his partner’s hair.

“. . . Lan Zhan?”

“Mm?”

“What happened to your parents?” he asked, curious but not insistent. Lan Wangji’s fingers didn’t hesitate.

“My mother died of a terminal disease when I was seven. My father followed when I was ten,” he hummed, tilting his head slightly, “I do not remember much, but I know many people say he died of sadness.”

Wei Wuxian winced and Lan Wangji struggled to say more.

“I . . . I don’t remember much of her but . . .”

“It’s okay,” Wei Wuxian reached out and squeezed his spare hand, “You don’t have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“. . . Wei Ying spoke about his.”

(Friendships were reciprocal things, weren’t they? And Lan Wangji knew he wasn’t the most reciprocal person)

Wei Wuxian squeezed his hand again.

“Because I wanted to, not because I had. I only want you to tell me if you’re okay with it. There’s no need for you to push yourself - you do so much for me as it is.”

(He did?)

He opened his mouth before blinking.

Wei Wuxian had finally slipped under, exhaling as he fell into a deeper sleep against the pillow. Lan Wangji delicately pilled back, freezing as fingers tightened around him.

“I’ll come back tomorrow,” he promised, and he didn’t know if it was the words or just Wei Wuxian wanting to curl up tighter, but the finger let go and Wei Wuxian bear hugged his pillows, smiling peacefully in his sleep.

As quietly as he could, he went out, wrote a quick reminder to have the curry that evening, and let the apartment door shut behind him.

The following day hung that promise like a distracting lantern over his head, as he reached the CCG and went to check in on his Brother.

Admittedly, he maybe should have dealt with the distraction, because he ended up blindly walking into one of his Brother and Nie Mingjue’s very very rare fights.

“Xichen, you couldn’t have known-”

“But I should have!” Lan Xichen slammed a hand against his desk and it rumbled ominously, his expression in disarray, “ _I’m_ the one who asked him to follow up that car and now A-Yao’s not answering _any_ of my texts, and if something’s happened to him, it’s all my fault and you saw the _state_ of those people at Phoenix Hospital, what if these people do that to him and-!!”

“Brother is not to blame,” Lan Wangji agreed, frowning as he walked closer. It was the Wen Clan who were.

Nie Mingjue gave a not-very-subtle slice across his neck, and Lan Wangji understood it too late as his agitated brother rounded on him.

“And you?! You’ve been off doing God knows what, you haven’t told anyone _anything_ , you message me about that stupid hospital and then don’t say a word about how you found it! What is going with you Wangji?”

He was completely rooted on the spot.

From his Uncle, he was well used to receiving heated lectures.

But his Brother?

That was new.

(That was . . . unpleasant)

Whatever his face was doing, it made Lan Xichen balk.

“Ah- Wangji, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell . . .”

“It’s fine,” he responded stiffly, turning and heading out of the office, “Brother has bigger things to worry about.”

“Wangji! _Argh_ , Wangji, wait!”

He sped up.

Something cold had sunk into his chest and it wasn’t just unpleasant, it was _awful_ and he wanted to get out, he kind of wanted to cry and he wanted to see Wei Ying _right now_.

Nie Huaisang thankfully took one look at him and called out his quinque without so much as a single quip.

“Wangji!”

Lan Xichen caught him at the front door, the entire reception stuff agape at what looked like the idyllic Twin Jades in the middle of what had to be a _fight_. Lan Wangji kept going because the last thing he needed aside from being a further burden on his stressed brother was _people_ watching it.

“Wangji, Wangji, please, I’m _sorry_ ,” Lan Xichen finally dug in his heels when they’d gone a bit out of the way outside, perhaps realising doing so earlier would have gained an entirely unwelcome audience, “Don’t just close up on me, _please_.”

“Brother has no need to apologise,” he responded tightly, “Wangji was being difficult.”

“ _No_ , you weren’t, you can always talk to me.” Lan Xichen entwined their fingers, expression tight as he peered into his baby brother’s golden eyes, “I’m just worried because you _haven’t_. Whatever’s going on is dangerous and I’m . . . I’m so scared something could happen to you, Wangji.”

“I’m fine.”

“You two might want to move a bit further back,” they both glanced up as Nie Mingjue approached, glancing back over his shoulder as what had to be half the CCG trying to find a reason to hover outside. Lan Xichen thinned his lips, took Lan Wangji’s wrist and the three headed off into a more private back alley around the side of the huge building.

Then the three of them stood in awkward silence (or the two of them did - Nie Mingjue stepped back, leaning against the wall and looking like he’d intervene if they had a fight. Were they about to have a fight? Was he fighting with his Brother? He’d never fought with his Brother before

“Wangji, breathe.” Lan Xichen rubbed a finger over his wrist, “I’m not mad, and I’m . . . I’m upset, but not at you. Just at this whole situation.”

It didn’t help.

“Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I’m not communicating properly.”

“Okay, yes, that’s sort of your fault,” Lan Xichen smiled weakly at him, trying to make this a bit more light-hearted but Lan Wangji felt a bit too unsettled to play along, “why don’t we go back inside, and just have a longer chat about this?”

He couldn’t - he needed to check up on Wei Wuxian.

He kind of just needed Wei Wuxian right now.

“I . . . am busy-”

“With what?” Nie Mingjue inputted bluntly.

“With . . .”

“Wangji,” Lan Xichen’s voice had tightened, “What’s in your bag?”

He glanced down and his heart stopped for a single moment. He’d been careless.

(The tip of a white ear was sticking out)

“Why do you have a mask in your bag?” Lan Xichen asked slowly, not accusatory but definitely close to it. He struggled not to panic.

The best he could do was avoid lying.

“It is the mask of the White Rabbit. I’m investigating it.”

“Why do you have its mask though?” Nie Mingjue frowned.

Both of them were frowning at him, actually, and fuck he felt like he was about to throw up. What would his Brother say if he told him the truth? What would his _Uncle_ say?

What would _centuries_ of Lan family history say to his friendship with a One-Eyed Ghoul?

“I’d like to know that too.”

He froze and felt both Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue do similarly.

Jiang Wanyin idly swung his leg, perched up on the closed top of a dumpster.

The three Investigators turned to face him, habitually moving into formation together.

“Young Master Jiang,” Lan Xichen greeted politely, “Good evening.”

“What are you doing in Qinghe?” Nie Mingjue was far less diplomatic, stepping forward with a snarl, “This _isn’t_ your turf!”

“Trust me, this place gives us all the hives,” Jiang Wanyin retorted, rudely.

Lan Wangji stiffened.

(Us?)

He glanced back and spotted the figure leaning against an alley wall. A man leaning down from the roof above.

He even recognised the purple hoodie of the girl idly playing with her phone on some backdoor steps.

All three Investigators reached for their quinque.

Almost ten different pairs of _kakugan_ immediately activated. Jiang Wanyin fiddled with a lighter, expression course.

“Oh, calm down,” he scoffed, “I don’t have business with the CCG. Just Lan Wangji.”

Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes, but before he could even open his mouth, both his Brother and boss stepped deftly in front of him, stances aggressive.

“And what would that business be?” Lan Xichen asked. Any cordiality had vanished from his voice.

“He’s being an arrogant little shit, that’s what!” Jiang Wanyin snapped back, jumping off the dumpster, his own _kakugan_ pulsing through the veins in his face. Lan Xichen just met him, stance for stance.

“Wangji did venture into Yunmeng. However, it was in pursuit-”

“I don’t give two shits about him going after the, what fucking was it again?”

“Pincushion, er-shixiong.”

“Right that!” Jiang Wanyin jabbed a finger at Lan Wangji, teeth bared and Lan Wangji felt Nie Mingjue drag him closer, “I’m talking about his business with my brother!”

“. . . What business?” Lan Xichen asked, almost hesitant, as he sent a questioning, deeply concerned gaze Lan Wangji’s way.

(Fuck, fuck, fuck, no, not like this)

“Oh of _course_ you don’t know!” Jiang Wanyin threw up his hands in aggravation, “I’m _talking_ about-!!”

He broke off suddenly, head whipping down the nearest alley so quickly it blurred, his teeth up and bared.

Almost all the ghouls around them had similarly gone stiff.

Whatever had caught their attention soon arrived within human hearing.

And Wei Wuxian was apparently someone you heard before seeing.

Pounding rock bass thundered through the small street as a red and black motorbike roared between the two definitely-on-the-edge-of-hostile parties, causing both to step back. Wei Wuxian flicked back his loosely tied back ponytail as hurled a helmet in Lan Wangji’s hands.

“Get on!” he roared over the music blaring from his motorbike’s speaker. Lan Wangji barely had time to shift his briefcase to one hand in time to catch the helmet, feet moving before his brain did.

“Wangji?!” Lan Xichen was still turning, startled, as his younger brother brushed past him.

He was drowned out by the ghoul on the other side of the motorbike.

“WEI WUXIAN!!” Jiang Wanyin outright roared, but his brother only threw him a middle finger as Lan Wangji dropped behind him, helmet on and arms moving around his waist.

“Later losers, we’re going shopping!”

Wei Wuxian’s high pitched laugh drowned at the protests of both ghouls and Investigators, all moving towards the bike. He kicked off hard from the ground, screaming the accelerator, and they all jumped back as the almost diagonal vehicle skidded a loop across through ground before tearing forward, skid marks streaking behind it.

Lan Wangji didn’t even bother to check behind as the streets flickered past them, the two racing through the back paths of the wards, instead just burying his face into Wei Wuxian’s hoodie and inhaling sweet sweet calm.

“Hey Lan Zhan!”

He glanced up.

Wei Wuxian tilted his head slightly, so the sound carried.

“How desperately did you want to avoid that conversation?”

“. . . Never again.”

Wei Wuxian glanced over his left shoulder, teeth bared up in a ferocious grin and _kakugan_ spreading.

“You got it~!”

He turned back and revved the accelerator harder. Lan Wangji squeezed tightly as they zipped forward even faster, hurtling around corners, trusting in reflexes only a ghoul could possess.

Wei Wuxian also seemed to be avoiding the main roads and their traffic, and while it kept them moving, it did demand turns that were less properly turned handlebars and more akin to sudden flexes of Wei Wuxian’s arms. Lan Wangji gripped on tight and inhaled about two parties worth of dried booze from Wei Wuxian’s hoodie, the body warm and twitching under his grip. The One-Eyed Ghoul navigated the labyrinth of streets without so much as glancing at his phone.

Something flickered in the rearview mirror and Lan Wangji glanced back. High above them, a purple shadow was in pursuit.

“. . . Jiang Wanyin is closing in.”

“Seriously?? That brat _know s_ he’s not meant to chase cars when the sun’s up! Urgh!” Wei Wuxian glanced around, before tilting back his head, “Okay, Lan Zhan, when I say so, tilt your weight back, but make sure you stay holding on.”

“Mm.”

“Great!” Wei Wuxian turned hard and Lan Wangji grabbed him tighter as the bike tilted, Wei Wuxian dragging his heel against the ground to help the harsh turn.

(He was barefoot, Lan Wangji took note of. Shoes wouldn’t have been able to deal with the friction)

“NOW!”

Wei Wuxian almost broke his nose as he lurched backwards, and Lan Wangji hurried to copy him. Wei Wuxian let out a peeling laugh as the front of the wheel of the bike went high and they rumbled down a flight of thankfully pedestrian-free stairs. He brought the front wheel down with a thump and easily swerved them into the near streets traffic, now able to drive off in an entirely more direct route to Yilling.

The purple ghoul was gaining on them.

“Wei Ying

“I know!” Wei Wuxian kept his eyes fixed ahead as he danced them through traffic, “If we can just get to Yiling, I can impose my turf rules on him.”

Lan Wangji nodded and hugged him tighter, trying to deal with the tension running rampant in his fingers.

“Don’t worry, Lan Zhan, we’re _nearly_ there.”

The purple ghoul was beginning to move shockingly fast in their pursuit. It too had figured out their goal.

Lan Wangji tensed as it reached lunging distance, aiming for a building that would allow it to perfectly drop down onto them.

(Wei Wuxian let out a triumphant roar as he turned down a path and went straight into an open parking lot.)

The ghoul lunged

And another ghoul crashed between them, colliding with Jiang Wanyin and sending them both flying into the cemented car park. Wei Wuxian skidded to a stop, dragging his heel through the cement ground to slow them down and inspect the standoff.

Jiang Wanyin struggled free with a hiss.

“ _Move_!!”

A ghoul in a deep red jacket blocked him, mask morbidly resembling a plague doctor’s.

“This is _Yiling_ , Jiang Wanyin,” the ghoul snarled, “You’re not allowed in our turf.”

“That’s fucking bullshit and you know it!”

The ghoul didn’t even bother responding, stance simply growing more aggressive. Wei Wuxian waggled his fingers.

“Thank you, Medic~”

“Wei Wuxian!!” Jiang Wanyin roared past his opposer’s shoulder, _“I’m gonna grind you to paste!!!”_

“Mm, good luck with that, sweet shidi. Bye bye~”

“WEI WUXIAN!!!”

Wei Wuxian ignored him, kicking off and driving into the streets of Yiling. Instead of his apartment however, he swung to a more southern part of the Ward, pulling up outside a huge assortment of abandoned warehouses.

He clearly had a goal, guiding his bike through multiple before stopping at one that was relatively nondescript. He unlocked the side door, vanished inside and the immense metal doors began to roll up, dreadfully unoiled.

“This is . . .?”

“My home away from home,” Wei Wuxian grinned, coming out from the opening doors and climbing back onto his bike, “I stash my bike here. Also, Jiang Cheng doesn’t know where it is, so even if he sends someone to sneak around my ghouls, they’ll be caught looking around my apartment.”

He drove them in, and Lan Wangji inhaled slightly.

(He could see why Wei Wuxian had not openly shared this place.)

It wasn’t the largest of the warehouses, and it had been filled wall to wall with lab equipment. Multiple power generators had been brought in, wires all over the place, hastily stuck in place with tape. An entire section had been cordoned off as a makeshift clinic.

“This is where Wen Qing and I work,” Wei Wuxian explained, a little needlessly, “the stuff we’d get executed on the spot for if we did it officially.”

“Your research?”

“Yeah,” he left the bike against the back of the warehouse and flitted over to one of his ongoing experiment, “I’m trying to artificially synthesise RC cells.”

Lan Wangji frowned.

“Why?”

“Well, RC cells are formed through a uniquely human internal mechanism,” Wei Wuxian happily lunged into his science, eyes lighting up and arms flinging around, “because of that, humans alone are capable of synthesising RC cells - though of course ghouls have stores of it since we need them to survive. But if I could get it done artificially then-”

“Then you can synthesise a food source for ghouls.” Lan Wangji finished, eyes widening ever so slightly.

(Not for the first time, he was left silent, in awe of his partner).

“So?”

He blinked and arched an eyebrow. Wei Wuxian twirled his key ring around his finger and elaborated.

“So what now?”

“We wait.”

“For what?” Wei Wuxian sat back against his bike, “I’m telling you now, Jiang Cheng’s not the type to just let this blow over.”

Yes. Lan Xichen likely wouldn’t be all too willing to let this go either.

“Sorry, by the way.”

He turned and tilted his head curious. Wei Wuxian kicked his legs, “You’re gonna have to talk with your brother about this now, right? I probably didn’t help any.”

“You helped,” he assured his friend, “Brother was already trying to discuss it with me.”

(Lan Xichen was already trying to discuss it with him.)

Both of them sat in glum silence.

“Well, don’t you two look optimistic?”

Lan Wangji turned, just as ‘Medic’ pushed open the smaller door with a hip, yanking off the plague mask as she did so.

Wen Qing came up to the two of them, looked distinctly unimpressed.

“We’ve got Jiang Wanyin waylaid at the south border, but he already backed off and gotten his phone out. You have about twenty minutes before the Yunmeng Jiang overrun us.”

“Then we push the Wens.” Lan Wangji decided and both looked at him, Wen Qing suspicious and Wei Wuxian with brightening eyes.

“Right! If we have something to give them, it will push their interest off us for a bit. Not to mention I’m down for engaging Wen Chao and his bodyguard for a little bit of round 2.”

He slammed his fists together for evidence and Lan Wangji just blinked.

“Can you ask the Daozhang?”

Wei Wuxian faltered, “No? I mean, I could, but they always demand extra payment when you ask for info too soon after your last visit. Jiang Cheng will find us there anyway - he’ll probably go there after my apartment.”

“Then we need a place that contains information about ghoul movements,” he thought for a moment. The CCG was both too dangerous in terms of avoiding Lan Xichen and had too little information about the Wen’s illegal practices.

Beside him, Wei Wuxian hummed, “You know, Uncle has the Clan’s files in his office. There’d probably be something in there.”

Lan Wangji paused, slowly turning to him.

“. . . We want to _avoid_ Jiang Wanyin.”

“Yeah!” Wei Wuxian grinned, “So let’s go to the one place he’s not going to check!”

“What about your Uncle?”

“Don’t worry, Uncle lets me get away with murder. He won’t be a bad sport and dob us in.”

“And if _anyone else_ finds him?” Wen Qing was making a face that agreed with Lan Wangji’s emotions, “Wei Wuxian. Tell me you’re not seriously contemplating taking a _dove_ into the heart of Lotus Pier and _not_ having it end up with someone hurt.”

“No one will get hurt!!” Wei Wuxian insisted, defensive, “The Jiang clan don’t do that.”

“No, the Jiang Clan humour you. They definitely do that.”

“We have a ‘leave doves alone’ policy.”

“Yeah, with ‘unless they’re aggressive’ in the fine print. I think being inside your ancestral territory is a _bit_ aggressive.”

(Lan Wangji just kept his eyes following the conversation like it was a tennis match)

Wei Wuxian huffed dismissively, “Do you have any better ideas, oh Great Madam Qing?”

She hit him.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why are you so _mean_?”

She went to hit him again and Wei Wuxian yelped, dating over to Lan Wangji’s side. He quickly shifted between the pair, arm going up for Wei Wuxian to hide behind. Wen Qing just lowered her hand with a sigh.

“You two are unbelievable. Fine! Go die! See if I care!!”

She thrust a middle finger Wei Wuxian’s way and stomped off to her section of the warehouse.

“So that’s a yes for sneaking into Uncle’s office?” Wei Wuxian turned, victory in his eyes and Lan Wangji nodded.

(That’s about when it finally sunk in)

They were going to sneak into Jiang Fengmian’s office.

He was going to be sneaking into the Jiang Clan Leader’s office.

“Don’t _worry_ , Lan Zhan.” Wei Wuxian squeezed his hand. “Like I said - no one’s going to get hurt.”

The mansion of Lotus Pier was one of the city’s crown jewels of architecture. Directly inspired by the long walkways that criss-crossed the pier, it was composed of wrought marble and copper, golden in the light of the setting sun, every inch reflected across the waters surrounding the man-made platform it had been constructed upon.

Alone on the lake, it was one of the most impenetrable fortresses - and thus Lan Wangji had the slightest of concerns as Wei Wuxian pulled to a stop near the edge of the lake, avoiding the main dock of the pier, instead looping around the edge to where the mainland curved around the lake.

“Wei Ying, where are you going?”

“Oh, well, most people don’t know about this,” he pulled up in a small carpark, just hugging the shore, “but when you’re stuck in a house for your teenage years, you get really, really, good at getting in and out of it.”

Lan Wangji watched as Wei Wuxian locked up his bike, kicked off his shoes and waded into the edge of the lake.

As soon as he reached the closest walkway of the pier, he reached under it and pulled out a dinghy, tied up under multiple poles to prevent it from drifting into the open.

Lan Wangji looked down at it suspiciously. The drawn out squeak it made as Wei Wuxian jumped into it did not endear it to him.

“What is this?”

“The best way to sneak into the Jiang family estate!” Wei Wuxian declared proudly, tugging on the motor to rev it awake and then steering it right up alongside the bank for Lan Wangji to step in.

He eyed the garish grey plastic boat and the bright red motor with disdain.

Wei Wuxian’s beaming smile didn’t hesitate, “She’s called Lil’ Apple.”

“You named it.”

“All boats need a name. Now get in! The longer we’re out in the open, the more likely it is that one of Uncle’s patrols will spot us!”

_That_ was a decent enough motivator to get Lan Wangji stepping into the boat, less than thrilled at the thought of another confrontation with the Yunmeng Jiang. Wei Wuxian just kept grinning as he began steering them backwards, keeping to the shadows formed by the pier. Lan Wangji was almost thankful for the required secrecy of their task, because he was fairly certain that, if sound hadn’t been an issue, Wei Wuxian just might have floored the motor.

And Lan Wangji was not confident this rickety thing would survive it.

Wei Wuxian navigated them through the lotus buds with ease, the route motor memory and Lan Wangji shuffled a bit closer, the two feeling oddly private the further out they steered into the lake.

“Wei Ying?”

“Yeah? Everything good?”

Lan Wangji tilted his head. “Did the Jiang family not allow you to leave the estate?”

Wei Wuxian blinked at him. “Well, yeah. I don’t go around hiding it.”

“It is odd.”

“Not really,” he shrugged, entirely, inappropriately nonchalant, “it made sense at the time.”

“It is unjust for you-”

Wei Wuxian interrupted him with a sigh, “Lan Zhan . . . do you know how much ghouls love unique things? It’s, like, their sick vice. My uncle hadn’t expected . . . well, _me_ when he found me - he’d unknowingly brought back a one of a kind creatures and the others all wanted a piece of it.”

He fiddled with the motor.

“So, he kept me in the pier, the safest place for anyone in our clan. Anytime we went outside, I had to be holding onto either him or Shijie.”

“He was truly unprepared for this? He knew about your parents, did he not?”

Wei Wuxian’s eyes flickered up and visibly chewed over something, before cutting the motor and letting them silently drift. Lan Wangji leant over, interested, as Wei Wuxian scooted closer to him.

“He didn’t have reason too . . . you see, my parents weren’t the first to get in on the interspecies action.”

Lan Wangji frowned, “You said there were none like you.”

Wei Wuxian nodded quickly, “Right. Because every time something like it happened, any offspring didn’t take up the ghoul traits.”

Lan Wangji blinked.

“I told you that I tried to look for others,” Wei Wuxian whispered, tone hushed, “But every lead I found just ended up with a half-ghoul.”

“Half-ghoul?” he frowned, “Is that not what you are?”

Wei Wuxian shook his head, “Dominant ghoul and human traits don’t like exchanging - kind of like how, if you’re a blonde, it’s _really_ likely that you’ll also have blue eyes. So, whilst both _are_ expressed, crossbreeds like me always have a dominant trait. Half-ghouls are humans with a bit extra. I’m a One-Eyed Ghoul - I’m a ghoul with a bit extra.”

“Maiden Luo and Maiden Wen referred to you with some variation of ‘half’.” he pointed out and Wei Wuxian grimaced.

“Yeah and trust me, if they _weren’t_ my friends, I probably would have punched them. It’s really rude. Half-ghouls are basically humans that have heightened senses and athleticism and stamina and blah blah. _I’m_ functionally a ghoul except I’m about ten times as socially needy as most of them.”

He rolled his eyes, “You can guess how much I _loved_ beingstuck indoors.”

Lan Wangji could hardly imagine.

(Someone like Wei Wuxian wasn’t meant to be trapped)

“Then . . . if it is known, why is it not more common?”

What made Wei Wuxian unique?

“Lan Zhan, you’re an investigator,” Wei Wuxian spoke flatly, “you should understand that when a human gets involved with a ghoul, they’re almost never on board. Ghouls just get high off the power. Even Old Dirtbag Jin goes after human women, and I can’t imagine he hasn’t got as many bastards from them as he does from ghouls. . . . I’m getting off track. Look the point is, nobody wants them.”

Lan Wangji nodded, lips thinning, and Wei Wuxian shrugged.

“When half-ghouls are born, they’re considered cursed children. They don’t have _kagune_ , or any sort of hunting sense and their ghoul sires have, um, a tendency of getting rid of them. Or not giving two shits.”

Lan Wangji winced. Wei Wuxian huffed a laugh, tilting his head back, “Anyway, long story short, Uncle Jiang thought I was a half-ghoul. It outright baffled them that just giving me regular food wasn’t doing anything. Shijie says they thought I had some sort of critical illness for almost three months!”

“Why did you?”

“Hmm?”

“Become a One-Eyed Ghoul.”

Wei Wuxian hummed, sitting back against the motor, “Dunno. Uncle’s theory is that since my parents loved each other, I wasn’t ‘cursed’ as it were. I think it’s just genetic 50-50 luck, but apparently that’s uncharacteristically boring.”

“It rather is.”

“Ouch.”

Wei Wuxian laughed, and Lan Wangji leant forward, absently pressing a finger against the other’s forehead. It succeeded in silencing the laugh, as Wei Wuxian cut himself off to blink up at the digit.

“Thank you for telling me.”

Wei Wuxian went bright red.

“Now, we should get to the pier.”

“R-right!”

Wei Wuxian stopped them outside a room on the far side of the estate, deftly tying up his dinghy.

(“ _Lil’ Apple_ , Lan Zhan. Her name is Lil’ Apple.”)

Above them lay what was hopefully the window to Wei Wuxian’s old room.

“What’s that look for?” Wei Wuxian snorted, letting go of the ropes and checking they were holding, “I know which window is mine. I was a _master_ of sneaking back in with no visibility. The _master_.”

“Of course.”

“Don’t patronise me. Here, give me a foot up. It will be bad if a maid’s in there.”

Lan Wangji squinted at him. Considering the nature of their task, they’d decided to forego the masks. “You can get in there yourself.”

“Umm, I want to peek, not _yeet_ myself though the window.”

“Hold the windowsill?”

“This place has won architecture competitions, _you think the windowsills are big enough to hold onto?!_ ”

Lan Wangji rolled his eyes and delicately stood up on the unsteady platform, gripping onto one of the estate’s support pylons, as he offered his other foot out as a step. Wei Wuxian caught his shoulder and waited for Lan Wangji’s nod before putting his foot up and carefully balancing up.

A couple of his _rinkaku_ tendrils flared out, wafting around him to balance better as he peered in.

“. . . All clear. Tip me.”

Lan Wangji obediently let his weight slide forward and Wei Wuxian clutched the open gap and dove in.

A faint grunt echoed from inside.

“Wei Ying?!”

“It’s fine.” his head popped out the window, “They’ve just moved my bed away from the window.”

He reached out a hand and hauled Lan Wangji in, who spared the room a quick glance as Wei Wuxian checked out the corridor behind his door.

More photos - mostly of Wei Wuxian and his three siblings growing up, various parties and graduations. The bed was pressed up against a corner of the wall, and a closet containing too small clothes had been carefully hidden behind mirror covered sliding doors.

“It’s free - this way!”

A hand caught his wrist and then Wei Wuxian was dragging him out through the halls. Lotus Pier was indeed gorgeous, a myriad of separate houses all linked by carved walkways criss-crossing the flower filled lakes that were allowed inside the estate.

He tried not to think about what would happen if someone stumbled across them.

Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), despite his assurance, Wei Wuxian was also hurrying them through, glancing around carefully before almost sprinting between the various buildings. The master suite was located in the very centre of the estate, an imposing building that was the only one that had two levels. Water flowed around it, directed to always be peacefully trickling past the open windows and Wei Wuxian glanced around the door carefully before pulling Lan Wangji in. The first room was clearly a reading room, two chairs placed across from each other, with a TV on one side and a door leading away to Jiang Fengmian’s office behind it all.

Stairs on the side clearly led up to the more personal area, but that wasn’t the place Wei Wuxian was tugging him.

Lan Wangji inhaled as they approached the sliding doors.

“What are we looking for?”

“Wen activity? Suspicious stuff?” Wei Wuxian shrugged, “We need to find their stores. They used the lab to manufacture STS, but I didn’t see anything about storage.”

“Neither. The hospital, as well, didn’t have room set aside for it.”

“So maybe something that has a lot of Wen trucks going back and forth?”

“Mm.”

(Their voices rose as they deepened the discussion)

The doors slammed apart and they both shut up.

Lan Wangji could only turn, vaguely terrified, to see the man standing in the doorway of the office, plum dress shirt neatly pressed, business suit immaculate and his cufflinks emblazoned with an all too familiar lotus.

The edges of his eyes creased, crows feet sinking in as he smiled gently.

“I thought I heard you come in, A-Xian. You could have used the front door.”

“Hey Uncle!” Wei Wuxian immediately bounced up to his full standing height, hand scratching the back of his head, “and I know, but the front’s so _boring_ , and-”

“Your Aunt is out right now.”

“Oh. Damn. Well that was a waste of effort.”

Jiang Fengmian (Jiang Fengmian, _Jiang Fengmian_ ) let out a soft laugh, turning Lan Wangji’s way.

“Lan Er-Gonzi. A-Cheng has brought you up a couple of times now. I hope you will continue to take care of A-Xian.”

He bowed.

Lan Wangji habitually fell into a bow of his own, still blinking a bit in confusion.

“But I doubt this is just a casual visit - why do you need to get into my office?”

Wei Wuxian beamed innocently, brazen, “Who said we needed your office?”

Lan Wangji turned to stare at him. At least his friend had the self-awareness to lightly chuckle, gaze dropping away. Jiang Fengmian didn’t so much as blink.

“Because you only ever sneak in when you need something from the office. Or to steal some of A-Cheng’s things.”

“Who needs fourteen bottles of soap, Uncle, honestly,” Wei Wuxian pressed his hands together and bowed his head slightly, “and yeah, I know, I’m only allied with Yunmeng Jiang now, I’m not allowed access to the files, but could you make an exception? Just this once~?”

Jiang Fengmian’s expression didn’t change from that passive contented smile, “You know I can’t do that.”

“Aww come on!” Wei Wuxian pressed his hands together, tighter, pout at full power, “ _please,_ Uncle~?”

Lan Wangji let out a faint sigh, reaching over to yank him back.

Jiang Fengmian gave them a short nod, before he glided over to one of the nearby chairs and pulled out a newspaper. They stared as he cracked it open and lifted it well over his face.

“. . . Uncle?”

“Wow. This newspaper is So Interesting - I’m So Intrigued that I’m completely Oblivious to My Surroundings.”

They turned and stared at each other, before Wei Wuxian grinned, taking Lan Wangji’s wrist and skipping into the office.

“Thank you, Uncle Jiang~”

“These gas prices are just Fascinating.”

They left him in the chair, hurrying through.

(Lan Wangji froze as he took in what lay beyond)

What his Brother wouldn’t give to get a glimpse of this.

Walls upon walls of files and binders covered the room floor to ceiling, shelves running through the remaining space to offer further storage. A huge desk occupied the far side, closest to the window to get the most light, immaculately clean and presentable.

He couldn’t stop himself from pulling out some of the nearest files, curiosity _burning_.

[Family Annals, _circa_ 6th Century BCE]

[Family Annals, _circa_ 10th Century CE]

[Family Annals, _circa_ 1945-1949]

“Lan Zhan!”

He almost dropped them, delicately putting the most ancient ones back first.

“Wen movement, in the last six months,” Wei Ying yanked out the binder, flipping through report after report from the Yunmeng Jiang patrols, “come on, there’s got to be something.”

Lan Wangji moved to his shoulder carefully reading each.

“There’s this place in Yueyang - no, that’s too many prostitutes. Oo, what about this Yingchuan place - ah, fuck no, that’s the Restaurant’s turf. I wonder if my ban’s still in place there?”

“Here,” he placed a fine down, halting the fan of papers, “Qionqi Station. An abandoned train facility. Trucks move there and back, randomly and sparsely.”

“Isn’t that too little for the numbers we’re dealing with?”

“They might be transporting only large quantities. Trying to minimise movement and thus visibility.”

“Yeah, that’d make sense,” Wei Wuxian frowned, reaching the end, “the only other option would be the Nightless City itself, and fuck, I’m not _that_ suicidal.”

“Then we’ll investigate Qionqi Station now.”

“Yep, let’s see if there’s anything we can ward off overly interested siblings with and call it a success!!”

Wei Wuxian shut the file with a cheerful chirp, and Lan Wangji watched him critically as he pushed it back into the wall.

“Do you not have work tonight?”

“Hey, Jiang Cheng’s in my bad books, _he_ can double shift for once.”

“A-Yuan?”

“With his Granny,” Wei Wuxian winked, “If it had been my turn, Wen Qing would have been way more mad.”

Lan Wangji sighed at him.

Jiang Fengmian hadn’t so much as budged from his armchair.

“We’re all good. See you on Friday for dinner.”

“These housing prices are Lit.”

They both looked at him. Wei Wuxian scrunched up his nose, “Please don’t use that word.”

It earnt them a huffed laugh from behind the newspaper.

“Your aunt will be back from Lanling in five minutes. Stay safe, A-Xian.”

Wei Wuxian beamed, grabbed Lan Wangji’s wrist and hurtled them back towards his room.

“We will be brief tonight,” Lan Wangji decided, as Wei Wuxian leapt smoothly down into the dinghy, possessing far more faith in it than Lan Wangji did.

Wei Wuxian beamed up at him, extending a hand for Lan Wangji to take on his way down.

“Don’t worry - like I said, Lan Zhan, no one’s getting hurt.”

Qionqi Station turned out to be an abandoned maintenance facility, back when the trains were run instead of the light rails. A couple of station workers were moving in and out, but none noticed the two Rabbit-masked figures skipping over onto the roof and finding a skylight, smoothly retracting both _rinkaku_ tendrils and the Wangji quinque.

Wei Wuxian lightly picked the lock and they were in.

There was a fever to it, as they dropped onto a metal walkway, suspend above them immense hangar. Old, out of service cars hung from the ceiling in chains, rusted tracks beneath them, walkways crisscrossing up and over to allow access. A few workmen were at the entrance, but none of them looked up as the two in black and white began making their way over.

Their goal wasn’t even hidden this time.

Immense silos had been set up high against the wall, accessible only by walkway, and the uppermost level was occupied by two aquarium sized glass cylinders, fill of clear liquid.

“Those ones first.”

“Got it,” Wei Wuxian reached up and lithely crawled up the side of the walkways, Lan Wangji on his heels, keeping lookout for anyone who might see them down below. Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian crawled up to the top and sniffed the lid.

“Yeah, that’s STS all right,” he shook his head and waggled his tongue, “it’s disgusting.”

“Good,” he turned, “the silos next.”

Wei Wuxian nodded and turned.

(It really had been too easy)

The One-Eyed Ghoul stiffened, reaching up and twisting a finger in his ears.

He frowned.

“. . . Black Rabbit?”

“There’s something ringing in my ears,” he grumbled, “You probably can’t hear it though, it’s too high a pitch.”

“Is it all right?”

Wei Wuxian frowned and then suddenly sharply inhaled, crouching low and letting out a pained gasp. Lan Wangji was at his side immediately.

“Wei Ying?” he hissed, stilling as he saw blood trickling out of his partner’s ears. Wei Wuxian let out a terrified heave,

“Lan Zhan?” he whimpered, “I can’t control my _kakuhou_.”

He went rigid, before his instincts jabbed him with a skewer. He threw them aside, pulling a straining Wei Wuxian in his grip, right before a _bikaku_ slammed into the walkway and tore it to shreds. He yanked Wei Wuxian closer as they both tumbled, trying to reach for his Wangji quinque and only succeeding on smashing through another walkway as they kept falling. Wei Wuxian let out a pained gasp, but all that occurred was a weak bubbling at his _kakuhou_ , the RC cells immediately disintegrating upon formation.

Right before they went into free fall, Lan Wangji snatched one of the loose chains in one hand, Wei Wuxian in the other and moderately slowed the descent before they crashed into the ground.

His brain bounced, which definitely put points in a concussion box, before stumbling to his feet and using the chain’s hook to catch the _bikaku_ darting out from the shadows, bringing his strength to bare as he tore the tip off.

Behind him, Wei Wuxian’s scream harmonised with the sound of flesh getting skewered and he glanced back (late, too late) in time to see a couple of _rinkaku_ tentacles disintegrating away from Wei Wuxian’s waist. 

His _waist._

Lan Wangji saw red, as he caught the slumping One-Eyed Ghoul, still clutching his ears, blood pouring from his _kakuhou_.

“Well, what do you know?”

He spun, snarling, Wei Wuxian clutched tightly in his arms. A pack of about eight ghouls stalked out from the shadows, _kagune_ all alight, as they inspected the two caught in their trap.

“The white one’s still standing. I thought this thing was supposed to have all ghouls on their knees.” The one leading them all, a scarred face ghoul in a station worker’s uniform, pressed a button and they all removed ear plugs.

“Get them. The Masters want them dead.”

The rest all lunged, and Lan Wangji reflexively swung his fist straight into one of their face’s but couldn’t dodge a _rinkaku_ tentacle wrapping around his ankle and yanking him away from Wei Wuxian.

The One-Eyed Ghoul barely had time to catch himself, instead slumping onto the ground, as the ghoul dragged Lan Wangji through the air and straight onto his extended knee.

Lan Wangji couldn’t swallow down the blood in time.

He gagged, spurting it over all over his chin, as the knee collided with his ribcage and then _he_ collided with the nearest wall, collapsing in a heap of pain and not much else.

“Oh my . . . No fucking way~” a boot came against his face, turning it roughly this way and that, “no wonder you’re still on your feet. Hey boys? This one’s a human!!”

Something coiled around his ankle, yanking him out and throwing him nonchalantly into the next closest pylon, laughter filling the crowd as he gasped for air, back cracking. His head thudded against the cement ground and he blinked through the concussion, world swimming.

Across, Wei Wuxian was virtually motionless, struggling in a pool of his own blood, desperately trying to pull himself over to help.

Fingers dug into his scalp and Lan Wangji bared his teeth as he was dragged up to his knees by his hair, the clasp to release Bichen falling just out of reach, a long tongue trailing the lines of his cheekbones.

“Well I was more than curious as to who was out busting our show - who knew a human had it in him?”

“Some human, fucker took that fallwith barely a _scratch_.”

“He’s pretty big - I’d reckon even big enough for all of us to have a taste~”

“ _Leave . . . him_ ,” the words were raspy, throat clogged, as Wei Wuxian’s lone _kakugan_ blazed, “ _don’t touch_. . .”

The main ghoul scoffed, “I can do what I want. I think I’ll start with one of these pretty hands-MOTHERFUCKER!”

Lan Wangji gasped as he was dropped onto his back, world spinning, the ghoul swearing liberally as a black _rinkaku_ tendril skewered the ghoul’s collarbone, before coiling layer over layer and constructing until a dreadful crack sounded out from the ghoul’s right shoulder; He turned, incensed, to the bleeding One-Eyed Ghoul. Lan Wangji’s heart leapt, seeing the blood rush out from the fractured _kakuhou_ , the tendril dissolving with barely any resistance, Wei Wuxian’s eyes fluttering with his consciousness.

“You actual beast,” the one in charge just shook his head, clutching his shattered shoulder, “you’ve taken that much damage and you still think you have a fighting chance?”

Another ghoul’s handwrapped itself around Wei Wuxian’s collar. Lan Wangji screamed his name as Wei Wuxian was slammed into six separate walls, before being hurled into the floor hard enough to dent it.

“Pin him.”

“My pleasure,” a scrawny ghoul emerged from the crowd, and Wei Wuxian roared as four _rinkaku_ tentacles skewered through his limbs, anchoring him to the ground beneath.

Lan Wangji struggled to get to his feet, fingers dusting the edge of Bichen’s inactive handle. He was waylaid half way through, as a _bikaku_ wrapped itself around his legs and dragged him over to their side, the head ghoul shoving him in front of Wei Wuxian’s blurry eyes.

“He means something special to you?” the ghoul jeered, “Then I think you can wait there and watch as we take him apart bit by bit.”

Wei Wuxian roared, unintelligible, rage and savagery over anything human, and Lan Wangji could only stare as the four tentacles skewing the One-Eyed Ghoul began twisting ever so slightly, blood gushing from each wound, the ruined crater bleeding freely at his waist, his _kakuhou_ further splintered by the last defiant tendril he’d sent out in Lan Wangji’s defence.

(No.)

Not Wei Wuxian.

_(No.)_

He finally worked Bichen’s grip into his good hand.

**_(Not Wei Ying.)_ **

The ghouls turned to him, hungry, and Wei Wuxian let out the most anguished yell he’d ever heard and it was wrong, wrong, Wei Ying shouldn’t sound like that, Wei Ying should never have to sound like that, these monsters were _hurting him hurting him hurting him._

His foot found purchase against the ground and he lunged in the same moment that Bichen unsheathed. The immense quinque exploded out, sharp as ice, and he cleaved the ghoul (monster, heathen, _how dare he_ ) who’d pinned Wei Wuxian, blade shearing both the four _rinkaku_ then the ghoul himself into two pieces.

With their owner dead, the ends dissolved, and Wei Wuxian shuddered in place, already trying to get up.

In the startled moment the others took to realise he’d just divided their compatriot into two very dead halves, he dropped to his knees, dragging Wei Wuxian’s bleeding body into his lap, hand shaking as he tucked a damp lock of hair out from Wei Wuxian’s face, ignoring the red trail it left on his skin.

“Wei Ying,” he whispered, “I’m here.”

“Run . . .” the one-eyed ghoul mumbled, blinking up at him, and _oh he was crying and it was wrong wrong wrong, “Please.”_

Lan Wangji closed his ears to the broken tone, scanning the injuries. The four puncture holes in his limbs were bleeding the most, staining his jacket and pants, showing nowhere near the One-Eyed Ghoul’s usual speed of blood clotting. He pulled him closer and Wei Wuxian flinched as his hand ran over the exposed _kakuhou_. His heart hammered.

_[The Kakuhou is the key organ responsible for the storage and distribution of high levels of Rc Cells.]_

_[A ghoul without a kakuhou cannot form a kagune, nor prompt their regeneration.]_

_Pipe got her kakuhou, you know? Without it, she couldn’t fix her brain._

_A ghoul without a kakuhou is a dead ghoul._

His breath hitched.

It was bad. The entire exposed organ appeared to have been shattered into pieces, only loosely held together by trails of sinew and RC cells. He could see where Wei Wuxian’s last desperate strike had furthered damaged it, ripping apart the exit at his waist, and snapping some of the last remaining threads.

They could fix it.

Unlike the ghouls they came from, quinque had no regenerative capabilities whatsoever. So, the CCG hence had extensive tools and procedures necessary to repair kakuhou, the core of the weapons. If he could just get him home, get him to Gusu, then it wasn’t too late.

His instincts screamed and he threw up Bichen. Sparks flew as the _bikaku_ clashed against the sword, the head ghoul watching them, face screwed up, right shoulder already fixing itself.

“You’ve got to be shitting me!!” he spat, striking again. Lan Wangji waited for it to get closer, before dipping his grip and striking upwards. The edge caught the tip of the _kagune_ and cut it straight off, and he made sure not to so much as flinch as the tip flew over his shoulder to thud into the ground. The ghoul howled, dancing back, his allies all bringing out their own _kagune_. Lan Wangji gazed around at the sea of red and just held out his sword, cradling Wei Wuxian to his chest.

The head ghoul just seemed to get more agitated, his severed _bikaku_ tip slowly reforming.

“You . . . you really? A human and a ghoul?!” he bared his teeth, and the strained veins around his eyes just seemed to grow with his spat rage, “And that sword . . . you’re a fucking dove, aren’t you?? You fucking hypocrite!! What right do you have to be involved here? What business is yours? You protect him but kill us? What makes him so special, huh? Why does he get to live and the rest of have to be killed, HUH?”

Lan Wangji felt, amidst all the tension and pain, a small pool of cool rage.

To compare Wei Wuxian to these monsters . . . it was barely worth being a joke.

“You take advantage of innocents,” he somehow managed to speak clearly, “you should expect consequences.”

He needed to get out. He couldn’t take them all on whilst carrying Wei Wuxian, and he didn’t trust them to leave the one-eyed ghoul alone if he were to put him down.

He bared Bichen anyway.

Wei Wuxian’s heartbeat fluttered where it was pressed up against his chest, his body far, far too cold to be safe.

He needed to kill them all, and he needed to do it _fast_.

He wondered if the hand weakly gripping his shirt could feel how much his own heart was beating.

“I’m going to rip you apart,” the head ghoul shambled towards him, the rest circling him obediently, “I’m gonna eat you piece by piece and then dump your zombie sword right on the footsteps of the CCG headquarters. Is there anyone going to miss you? Will they cry?”

Lan Wangji didn’t swallow, didn’t blink, didn’t so much as change his mouth. His golden eyes focused, and he merely straightened his posture. About six different _kagune_ all flickered to attack.

Every door in the room exploded, smoke piling in high enough to even conceal the abandoned train cars. In the smoke, footsteps could be heard, and the ghouls all spun back out, shifting away from him to form a loose circle.

The head ghoul snapped.

“ALL RIGHT, WHOEVER THINKS THIS IS SOME KIND OF FUCKING JOKE-!?”

He was cut off. Quite efficiently actually. A Q-bullet ripped clean through his lower jaw, blasting it off and in the moment of confusion, a blade white as snow struck out, taking off his head and spearing his _kakuhou_ apart in the next sweep. For the first time in a solid minute, Lan Wangji let out a breath, shivering as Lan Xichen spun Shuoyue in his hand, mouth tilted down as his eyes burnt.

“Get. Away. From my little brother.”

One of the ghouls stumbled back, hauling out a phone, “WE NEED BACK UP! DOVES!! DOVES-!!”

In the smoke, Lan Wangji couldn’t see who took him out, only the scythe like quinque bearing down and cleaving him apart, the rest of the small unit mobilising as the ghouls fled apart. One dared to try and attack them, and Lan Xichen dispatched him easily, his own sword twirling like a ribbon in his expert grip. Lan Wangji stumbled, and the pain that his adrenaline had been ignoring finally got a chance to kick back in. He grimaced, sliding to his knees and coughing up a mouthful of bad blood, careful to tilt his head so that it didn’t get on the shivering ghoul.

“Wangji,” a hand caught his shoulder. He could see the anxiety consuming his brother, but the manner in which his head was tilted was professional and quick, “you’ve got a concussion. And you’re favouring your right side.”

“Broken. Three ribs.”

“Okay. Stay here and keep watch over him. We can deal with the ghouls and be out before reinforcements arrive . . . Wangji?”

He’d caught his brother’s sleeve, pointing to the immense silos taking up the upper levels.

“Why we came . . . serum . . . preserved organs . . . to make,” he coughed up some more blood, “ _make_ -!”

“Make ghouls,” his brother finished, white, “The missing people. The serum you . . . Wangji, what have you found?”

“Later,” he promised, “destroy them. Before backup.”

Lan Xichen gave the immense storage equipment a firm look and nodded, turning back to him.

“You keep him safe, all right? Stay out of the fight.”

Lan Wangji nodded, finally letting Bichen slide to the ground and now using both hands to cradle his injured partner to his chest. He thought he might have just imagined the hand trying to weakly grab his shirt, but he caught it in his own anyway.

“Wei Ying?”

All ten gathered quinque rammed into one of the silos, and didn’t leave so much as a scratch.

“Again!” Lan Xichen ordered, twisting his grip to strike harder.

“Wei Ying, it’s going to be okay,” he promised, tugging his partner closer against his chest, brushing aside some of his hair, “Hold on.”

“Lan Zhan,” the voice was faint, wispy, “Lan Zhan, I’m cold.”

Lan Wangji tore off his coat and wrapped Wei Wuxian up in it, trembling.

The quinces struck a fifth time. Lan Xichen exhaled, perspiration forming.

“AGAIN-!”

One of the Investigators screamed, and they all split apart as the man crumbled, an _ukaku_ shard in his neck.

Reinforcements had arrived.

“Regather back at Wangji!” the Vice-Director ordered, quickly spinning around shooting a Q-bullet straight through the face of the _ukaku_ wielding ghoul.

Another let out a high-pitched shriek as she was too slow to cut a _bikaku_ , dragged off the walkway and flung down to the ground with enough force to turn her into nothing more than a red splatter.

The remaining Investigators formed a circle around Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, closing up the holes to protect each other’s backs.

All across the station, more ghouls were trickling out, slow and relaxed, their prey’s escape completely cut off.

Lan Wangji swallowed with a sick realisation.

“Why so few?” he asked tremulously, “You didn’t bring many.”

“I knew you were with Wei Wuxian,” his brother got out between his teeth, “I brought those who wouldn’t tell.”

Lan Wangji’s stomach sank with understanding. Even now, Wei Wuxian’s injured _kakuhou_ was still visible, unable to retreat under his skin in such bad condition.

They’d become outnumbered. And they’d already lost two fighters.

Grimly, Lan Wangji prepared to take up Bichen. Forget the containers, they needed to get out alive. They could come back - they’d at least delay the operation if the ghouls tried to move it in the meantime.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” a _kokaku_ -wielder purred, gazing down at them from atop the train. The Investigators all arranged themselves into formation, white coats bloodied beyond recognition, as the horde of ghouls prepared to lunge.

Above them, the huge glass cylinder shattered into a million pieces.

All of them, ghouls and investigators alike, spun around, darting away as the serum burst out, flooding the upper walkways and dripping down to the abandoned train cars below. Before anyone could even ask, another one beside it shattered. Several ghouls, suddenly realising their investments were currently being threatened, lunged up. Out of the shadows of the upper level, an immense purple _bikaku_ whipped out, carrying enough force to explode their bodies on impact. A train car shook, its wheels rattling as the holding chains creaked, when a ghoul slammed onto it, _bikaku_ twitching far more like a whip than a tail.

Hiding his face was an exquisite mask, depicting three faces, one confused, another drooling, the third enraged.

“Sandu . . .” one of the ghouls whispered, “Sandu Shengshou! It’s the Sandu Shengshou!!”

The ghoul gazed down at them all, and a loud scoff echoed.

“What are you lot waiting for?” he demanded towards the Investigators, “A fucking invitation?!”

“Now, now, Sandu,” they all spun, and the ghouls whimpered. In the distraction, about ten of them had collapsed without anyone knowing, a mist-like _ukaku_ seeping from the soft-spoken newcomer, her face hidden behind a mauve veil, crowned with a golden lotus. As two others collapsed from inhaling the ukaku’s mist form, she pressed her hands together in reverent prayer.

“Let’s keep this civilised.”

The mist hardened into an _ukaku_ ’s crystal shard substance, raining down and splitting open the heads and _kakuhou_ of the nearest ghouls. Sandu Shengshou snorted, raising up a commanding hand.

Emerging from the shadows, each one marked in purple, _kagune_ active and agitated, was a whole new horde. Climbing along the walls, hanging from the railings, _kagune_ hooked into the ceiling, a sea of red eyes shone down. Their commander’s voice was hard and cold as he pointed down at the suddenly outnumbered ghouls.

“ _Shred them_.”

The Investigators all tightened their defence as the two groups of ghouls slammed into each other. Ghouls fighting amongst themselves wasn’t uncommon in back alleys, two or so squabbling over scraps, but most preferred not to fight since it drew so much attention.

No one here cared about attention.

The station workers were backed into a corner, but the Yunmeng Jiang were _furious_.

Lan Wangji watched in faint horror as one threw itself onto a station worker, biting the head clean off as its _kokaku_ speared out the spine in the process. Another two were tussling under the rafters, _kagune_ holding them up, as they ripped each other apart limb by limb. Sandu Shengshou, crouching above alone, gave his own _kagune_ a lazy whip and three ghouls were all splintered into red patches.

Lan Xichen snapped out of it first, striking the exposed back of the nearest station worker, who’d stumbled back to escape the ambush. His Investigators needed no more encouragement, clutching quinque grimly as they attacked the unwary rear with aggressive determination. In the chaos, Lan Xichen pointed to the immense silos, struggling to get Sandu Shengshou’s attention.

“Those ones!” He yelled, “Those ones have got to go!”

The Sandu Shengshou glanced down, then back up, and his immense whip flickered. “Right.”

Ghouls, station workers and Yunmeng loyalists alike, split apart as he took off at a sprint, slamming his _bikaku_ along the ground, much like how one strikes a match against its box, and the entire station lit up as sparks alighted along the predatory organ.

Even amidst the chaos, a degree of awe still settled, fixated on one of the most powerful of the hereditary _kagune_.

Those silos had taken nearly all of the CCG’s quinque without a scratch. The Zidian, charged and bearing more force than a moving tanker, only needed a single blow. The thick outer wall buckled like a tin can, and formaldehyde exploded out, the pressure finishing his job as more and more cracks formed, the liquid inside bursting out in jets. Without even checking if successful, the ghoul had already moved onto the others, even as those nearby began coughing from the stench of preserved organs. Some of the ghouls tuned, self-preservation taking hold, but they could barely take two steps without inhaling the Lotus Bride’s misty _ukaku,_ passing out immediately as she stood guard over the exits.

It was almost too brutal.

Blood dripped down from the walkways, organs dangled from chains, as the Yunmeng Jiang finished off the last few trying to defend the spilt crates. Sandu Shengshou himself had a solid amount of blood coating the right side of his purple long coat, and that was definitely a couple of hearts still skewered on his _bikaku_.

He turned to the Investigators, couching low and _bikaku_ whipping lazily side to side.

With a sharp click, the Yunmeng Jiang dissolved into the darkness, leaving only their commander and his sister, watching the Investigators passively.

Lan Xichen gave them a sharp nod of thanks, of respect, of pretty much anything he needed to give, as he turned back to his little brother.

“Gather the contents!” Lan Xichen ordered his unit, “Seal them and get them back to headquarters immediately! Contact every Ward - what we’ve uncovered here will require a full mobilisation of the CCG!”

And, as his unit hurriedly followed his orders, most still in slight shock to be alive, he felt the family might want a little privacy for this next bit.

Right on point, as soon as the Lan brothers were the only two Investigators remaining in the room, Sandu Shengshou vaulted down, ripping off his mask as he sprinted over.

“Come on, you asshole, you’re not allowed to be fucking dead!” Jiang Wanyin growled out, skidding to his knees to cradle his brother’s head. Wei Wuxian’s _kakugan_ had faded, when Lan Wangji had no idea, and two silver eyes blinked up, absent and unseeing.

“Jiang . . . Cheng?” his voice was a frail rasp, “That you?”

“Of course, it’s me,” Jiang Wanyin’s rage held a warble, “you’re going to be okay. Cos I’m gonna kill you myself tomorrow.”

That got him a short laugh, but it quickly faded to a cough, blood bubbling at the edges of Wei Wuxian’s mouth.

“Oh, A-Xian,” the Lotus Bride slid down beside them, and Lan Wangji didn’t resist as she deftly twisted him to look at his _kakuhou_.

Her hiss had all four looking at her.

“How bad?” Lan Wangji asked urgently, his grip tightening. She shook her head.

“We can’t fix it. Neither can he.”

“A-Jie!” Jiang Wanyin protested, “There must be something! Surely this idiot has survived worse!”

“Calm down, A-Cheng,” she settled him, “We’ll find something. But this is the first time he’s taken so much damage to his _kakuhou_. . . I don’t know . . .”

“We can.”Lan Wangji’s voice was a soft mumble, and the two ghouls straightened.

Seeing that his little brother was much more preoccupied with holding his friend close rather than explaining, Lan Xichen cleared his throat.

“The CCG has extensive procedures designed to repair _kakuhou_. Since they form the cores of our quinque but lack the regenerative properties of the ghouls they came from, they have to be manually restored. If he’s brought to the Cloud Recesses-”

“Fuck. No.” Jiang Wanyin’s voice went frigid, knuckles white on his brother’s arm, “There’s no fucking way you’re taking my brother back to the Cloud Recesses.”

“A-Cheng!” Jiang Yanli pulled him off, and the three moved a bit to the side, the brother tense, the sister inspecting him cautiously, “You can definitely save him?”

Lan Xichen nodded, solemn, “If we can repair the _kakuhou_ , his other injuries should restore themselves. If it isn’t repaired in time, then, regardless of where he is, Wei Wuxian will die.”

Jiang Wanyin flinched. His older sister didn’t.

“Can you promise me?” her voice didn’t quaver, “Can you promise me that absolutely no harm will come to him whilst he is completely under your authority?”

“I can promise you that he will be taken to the main family’s personal quarters within the Cloud Recesses. The only people who can enter without first notifying myself or Wangji are our handpicked staff, and Uncle. Our staff will keep our secret. Uncle will not be back for a week. He will not be found by anyone.”

“And we’re just meant to take your word on that?” Jiang Wanyin asked, suspicious. Lan Xichen bowed his head.

“My word is all I can give. However, please know that I will _never_ cause any harm to your brother.”

“Why?”

Lan Xichen blinked, resigned, “Because my own would never forgive me.”

They all turned to the pair, to Wei Wuxian’s still form, Lan Wangji curled over so tightly to cradle him, foreheads resting together, lips moving in reassuring whispers too soft for even ghoul ears.

Jiang Wanyin swore.

His sister just took his hand, squeezed it reassuringly and then turned to face the Vice-Director of the CCG.

“Then, Vice-Director Lan,” she bowed, trembling, “We’ll be putting our faith in you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teenage! JZX: a mutated ukaku is weak  
> JYL: Spite ™ Activated
> 
> MXY: You didn't tell me they were dating??  
> WQ: it's sort of obvious  
> XY: Seriously, how didn't you know
> 
> WWX: Why does JC have so many soaps??  
> JC: Mind your business, WWX!!
> 
> Remember folks, Don't march into enemy territory thinking nothing will go wrong and in a rush
> 
> Do you want lot's of Wangxian just talking? Cos that's what you're getting!!
> 
> I would like to thank everyone who left comments and kudos and hope this chapter was a good one!!
> 
> I'm sort of suffering a bit of writing burnout and am going on holiday, so next chapter will be in a fortnight, instead of a week. Thank you all so much for being patient with me and my brain -_-
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!! \^o^/


	7. infinitely spreading as solitude wraps around me

Lan Wangji hadn’t left his side in all the days it took for Wei Wuxian to wake.

The Lan Family had no shortage of medical experts and with his meticulously repaired _kakuhou_ , the rest of Wei Wuxian’s injuries had mostly handled themselves, leaving the One-Eyed Ghoul sleeping under his blanket, tucked away in one of the more private buildings within the Cloud Recesses.

(Mother’s rooms had always been better left undisturbed)

Fatigue, Lan Xichen had warned him. Wei Wuxian was likely Very Hungry and thus trying to sleep off his energy depletion. He would have to eat sometime, but that was a matter none of them were particularly ready to address.

Every now and then, the One-Eyed Ghoul would twist, face creasing, breath shifting, and Lan Wangji would reach out, taking his hand, pressing it up against his cheek, reassuring the other that he wasn’t alone. He didn’t know how much Wei Wuxian could understand in his sleep, but it always seemed to calm the other down, the strained movements ceasing, and his forehead relaxing.

Every now and then, Lan Xichen would come in with a tray of food, softly suggesting he take a leave to shower or sleep in a bed but knew his brother’s stubbornness well enough to not push after the first few fervent rejections.

“At least eat.” He’d spoken on the first day of Wei Wuxian’s sleep, hand catching Lan Wangji’s shoulder. He’d hummed, noncommittal, and his brother had left with a sigh. He seemed to do that a lot these days, most often around him, and he felt a small vein of guilt at causing his already overworked brother so much more stress.

He’d spoken of everything he and Wei Wuxian had done, secret no longer such and his Brother had indeed almost fainted upon hearing who they were up against. Thus passed three whole days, broken only by the few visits Lan Xichen managed on top of the absolute chaos the CCG had been dragged into, or by the arranged texts with the Jiang Clan over the status of their adopted son. Those often ended with a brief live stream of the room to reassure them that everything said was true, and a million more questions on top.

On the third evening, Lan Wangji was just neatening up some of the mostly untouched trays, brushing a few wayward strands of hair back into place behind Wei Wuxian’s ears, when Lan Xichen came in, slightly more grave than normal.

“Brother,” he greeted, frowning at the look on Lan Xichen’s face.

His elder brother came to sit beside him, staring, a trace blankly, at the one-eyed ghoul. “Uncle has closed meetings with the last of the Ward specific headquarters. He will be back sometime tomorrow,” he spoke, clipped, “I have conferred with some of the doctors. He will need to . . . to eat something, to properly recover. We should do it now, before Uncle returns.”

“Yes,” Wangji’s hand tightened around Wei Wuxian’s wrist.

(Of course, they _could_ just give him regular food, but he didn’t know whether or not Wei Wuxian would be comfortable with his full nature being so casually revealed. What’s more, it might even be pointless - he’d mentioned that human food had all the nutritional value of junk food, and what he needed was something that would help restore his RC cell production.)

“Do we have anything stored? For transplants?” he asked instead. He had no idea how to find and/or buy things from Wei Wuxian’s ‘Chop Shops’. Killing was out of the question. Lan Xichen looked conflicted.

“Yes . . . but they’re meant for emergencies. To save lives.”

The knuckles around Wei Wuxian’s hand went white. “We promised. To save _his_ life.”

Lan Xichen glanced between them, shoulders slumping. “Yes. We did. I will be back shortly.”

The door slid shut behind him and Lan Wangji returned his attention to his partner.

He decided, with a bitter vengeance, that Wei Wuxian looked wrong like this. Wei Wuxian was always so energetic and sprightly, even when things were dire. Compared to that vibrancy, the way he now lay so still and quiet seemed almost a perversion of the One-Eyed Ghoul, an incomparable porcelain doll without breath.

His brother’s return disrupted that morbid spiral, and he glanced up, pausing at the sealed package he was bringing out.

“A heart?” he asked, confused. Heart transplants were infamously difficult to preserve and given that ghouls absolutely loved skewering them as an attack strategy, the CCG never had any to spare. His brother stared back calmly.

“The amount of RC cells that are processed and transported via the heart are nearly more than the rest of the human body combined. It is the least amount needed to satiate him.”Lan Wangji didn’t need anything more, reaching for the package. His brother hesitated.

“I can do this bit. Wangji, maybe you want to take a shower?”

“I’m fine.” He frowned a bit. They could talk about this later. Lan Xichen looked an odd mix between worried and exasperated.

“It doesn’t have to be long.”

“If he properly wakes up, I want to be here.” He replied simply, “I will not allow Wei Ying to wake up alone in the Cloud Recesses.”

His brother paused, a small flicker of guilty realisation on his face, “Of course . . . just be careful.”

He nodded, tried not to contemplate how morbid scooping out a human heart into a bowl was, merely extending it towards Wei Wuxian’s face.

“Wei Ying?” he murmured, “Wake up. You should eat.”

For a dreadful moment, the One-Eyed Ghoul showed no more change than he had for the past three days, eyes closed, body motionless. Lan Wangji swallowed, reaching out to stroke his forehead.

“Wei Ying?” he whispered, “Please?”

He still didn’t know quite what tipped the boat, whether it was the touch, the smell of food moving closer, his voice or the One-Eyed Ghoul’s hunger, but, as his finger traced along Wei Wuxian’s hairline, his partner’s forehead creased, eyelids flickering.

He froze, as a frail hand reached up and caught his own, pulling it off his forehead to gaze at the fingers now entwined with his, silver eyes slowly blinking open, wider and wider. His gaze fell to the side and his expression contorted.

“Lan . . . Zhan?”

“Mm,” Lan Wangji pulled their entwined hands to his face, pressing the One-Eyed Ghoul’s fingers right onto his cheek, “I’m here.”

Wei Wuxian blinked slowly, eyes trailing around, “Where . . .?”

“It doesn’t matter. Here. You need to eat.”

He held the bowl closer, trying not to recoil at the smell as Wei Wuxian’s attention shifted. He struggled to sit up, and Lan Wangji hastened to help him, pulling him to rest against the bedhead, pillows arranged for support, as he handed over the bowl. Wei Wuxian seemed slightly hesitant, as he picked at the lump of human meat, eyes flickering over to Lan Wangji. He gave a simple nod and Wei Wuxian’s shoulders, ever so slightly, rose up. He immediately plunged teeth into the heart, ripping through with no effort, manically biting and chewing, movements grower stronger and more fervent the more he ate.

Watching near the door, Lan Xichen’s heart was pounding hard enough to cause him a worry that cardiac problems might run in the family. The ghoul . . . Young Master Wei . . . the person his brother had become deeply attached to was seemingly regaining his energy with every bite, processing the cells at a rate he didn’t know possible. More worrying, however, was his manner. This wasn’t a ghoul eating quickly in order to glut himself - this was a ghoul starving and only growing hungrier the more he realised his food supply was about to end. Seeing the amount of saliva mixed in with the congealed blood, Lan Xichen quickly ordered for another two hearts to be brought in, resisting the urge to drag Lan Wangji to a safe distance. His too kind brother was pressed right up against the ghoul’s side, supporting him as he ate, seemingly completely unaware of those teeth being less than a metre from his body.

Wei Wuxian wiped his mouth messily, swallowing back his saliva and Lan Xichen felt his anxiety rise. He hadn’t been just asking Lan Wangji to shower - there was a reason all members of the Lan family routinely went around smelling like sandalwood, even those not involved in active work and the reason was simply that ghouls preferred biting things that smelt like human rather than sticks of incense. Right now, any masking scents had probably been overpowered by Lan Wangji’s natural smell and he wasn’t sure whether his brother’s bravery in being that close to a likely starving ghoul was more impressive than the fact that said starving ghoul hadn’t yet attacked the full meal assaulting his senses less than a metre away.

The staff couldn’t return quick enough and Wei Wuxian ate a total of four hearts before finally slowing down, idly licking the blood from his hands, colour already much better and movements stronger and more controlled.

Lan Xichen still kept a finger in his coat, a pistol fully stocked with Q-Bullets resting against his hip, as the ghoul turned, leaning into the welcoming investigator. Lan Xichen watched, hawk eyed, as those teeth drifted closer and closer towards Lan Wangji’s neck, not quite ready to shoot a high standing member of the Jiang Clan and the only real friend his brother had, yet also perfectly ready to defend said little brother if the ghoul attacked.

At the last minute, Wei Wuxian’s head swerved and his cheek rested against Lan Wangji’s neck, hands reaching out to clutch his shirt front. In that same moment, Lan Wangji’s arms wrapped around the ghoul’s body, pressing him in close.

“Lan Zhan?”

“I’m here.”

“Hold me.”

“I am.”

“Tighter?”

Lan Wangji’s embrace tightened and the ghoul purred, nuzzling up close to his neck. Lan Xichen could only gawk at the sight, suddenly feeling like he just might be intruding on something here.

And then he saw a flicker of movement.

He straightened up immediately at the sight of dark tendrils spreading out from Wei Wuxian’s waist, getting ready to call a warning and grasping his pistol’s handle tighter.

About five _rinkaku_ tendrils slovenly drifted over, wrapping around Lan Wangji at the same time that Wei Wuxian wiggled his arms free to hug Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji, for his part, just felt the _kagune_ embrace him along with Wei Wuxian, as if his partner found only two arms not enough limbs to properly cuddle him, still purring.

(Adorable.)

Wei Wuxian was adorable.

He could almost feel the tension of the past days seeping out, and he veritably crushed the One-Eyed Ghoul against his chest.

“I’m here,” he repeated, almost to himself, “I’m here.”

“Wangji,” his brother’s voice was soft, cautious, staring at them vaguely perplexed, “. . . it’s dangerous to be so attached.”

“It is alright,” he replied simply, “Wei Ying is my friend.”

( _Friend? I didn’t know friends cuddled together like that?!_ __

_Are you still in denial, little brother? It’s cute, but a bit ridiculous?!_ __

_Have I failed as a big brother in teaching you about emotional understanding????)_

Lan Xichen was several amazed thoughts away from fainting. Unfortunately, before he could tunnel too far down, Wei Wuxian had stiffened, shifting his gaze sideways to stare Lan Xichen down. Ever so slightly, his gaze once more flickered around the room and a certain tremor of tension filled him, the ghoul shrinking against Lan Wangji’s chest. The Investigator just clutched him tighter, stroking a hand through his hair.

“. . . This is the Cloud Recesses.”

“No one knows,” Lan Wangji murmured, soft and promising, “This part of the Cloud Recesses is limited to the main family alone. And Uncle is away.”

“Really?”

“You are safe here.”

Wei Wuxian turned his face so that it was pressed into Lan Wangji’s chest, shoulders moving up and down multiple times.

When he twisted his head to gaze at Lan Xichen with a single eye, the Vice-Director had to hold himself firm against the _kakugan_ focusing tightly on him.

“That is very open minded of Elder Brother Lan.”

He dipped his head in acquiesce, “Your injuries following the raid on Qionqi Station were critical - your family agreed that the Lan family had the best chance of saving you. Feel free to call them whenever you are feeling ready.”

Wei Wuxian had straightened at his words, swiftly allowing his _kakugan_ to fade and properly facing the family’s head with wide eyes.

“That Jiang Cheng did?”

“Indeed.”

Wei Wuxian just blinked rapidly, visibly startled. Lan Wangji reached out and begun running soothing fingers through his hair.

“Can wait.” He offered and Wei Wuxian leant into his support, subconsciously seeking out the warmth. Lan Wangji hastened to oblige, pulling him in closer

“Thanks Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian sent him a warm smile, “but I really should check in with them if they’ve been waiting. They’ll be fretting and Jiang Cheng always gets so antsy when he’s fretting. Do you have a phone?”

“I do,” Lan Xichen handed his over, “it’s been protected from interference, and can’t record calls - please be at ease to talk freely. I will have to go soon, though.”

“Thanks,” Wei Wuxian mumbled absently, hurriedly keying in a clearly familiar number. Despite his definitely improved demeanour, he hadn’t yet left what was essentially Lan Wangji’s lap, the Investigator still wrapping an arm around his waist, the absent-minded movement of his _rinkaku_ still actively entwined around the human.

The call was answered before the first dial had ended and Wei Wuxian’s face immediately softened at whoever spoke up on the other end.

“Hey Shijie,” he smiled, before startling, “oh, no, I’m fine, I promise, please don’t cry! This one is sorry for worrying you so much.” He paused and listened intently to the voice on the other end.

“ . . . I see. Sorry for causing everyone so much trouble . . . mn, no, Lan Zhan’s right here. Yep, when I woke up. And I’ve eaten too, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Sir?” a staff member stuck her head through the door, keeping her gaze fixed on the Family Head, “You’re being requested at CCG HQ.”

Lan Xichen sighed and gently motioned for Wei Wuxian to hurry it up. The ghoul nodded, turning back to his call.

“I’m going to have to hand back the phone now, Shijie. Tell everyone I say hi . . . yeah, yeah, I’m being very polite! Who do you take me for? I’ll call soon, okay? Tell that Jiang Cheng not to get too jealous - he’ll be my next call. Bye . . . Love you too.”

He ended the call, quietly handing it back. “Thank you, Elder Brother Lan.”

Lan Xichen smiled and nodded. “It seems I will only be seeing you two later this evening. Please try to get some more rest, Young Master Wei. And please dissolve your _rinkaku_ \- your RC cells should be going towards your healing, not your _kagune._ ”

“Oh, yeah. Right. Whoops.” The dark tendrils collapsed, and he awkwardly pulled down the white shirt Lan Zhan had gotten him into, concealing the dark red crater at the back of his waist, closing up deftly as the _rinkaku_ fully dissolved. Lan Xichen left to the sight of Lan Zhan helping him back down, fussing about with the blankets and making sure they were nicely tucked up around the injured man, almost _smiling_ when Wei Wuxian murmured softly to him, as the ghoul’s own smile almost took over his whole face whilst Lan Wangji adjusted the pillows.

_His brother was so cute? So domestic? When did this happen?_

Shaking his head, he pocketed his phone and closed the door, finally giving the two some privacy.

Lan Wangji maintained his vigil, as Wei Wuxian slipped back down into a thankfully lighter sleep, fingers still entwined with his own. His phone kept buzzing with alerts about upcoming CCG meetings, so he duly muted it, remaining up past curfew to trace fingers over Wei Wuxian’s hairline.

Lan Xichen returned late.

“Uncle?”

“Uncle is still at the office,” his brother sat down in the chair beside him, absently tucking away a few fly-away hairs. “He is compiling everything we have on the Wen Clan. Da-ge is wrestling the localised divisions into a meeting tomorrow. He’s spent today speaking with the military.”

“The Wen Clan?”

“We haven’t mentioned them yet,” Lan Xichen licked dry lips, “but we’ve already had calls from various political offices, demanding a full explanation lest they cut funding. We have to plan a war and yet we’re running out of _time_.”

He sighed, hand going to his chest, stress finally breaking into a fidget as he twisted the signet ring hanging underneath his shirt, a perfect replica hung on a chain around Lan Wangji’s own neck.

“. . . Meng Yao?”

Lan Xichen inhaled shakily, “I got a text.”

Lan Wangji glanced over at him, spying the tightness around his Brother’s eyes.

“It was a map of the Nightless City.”

It hung between them.

(The Nightless City)

The heart of the Sun Corporation’s industries.

An office building the size of four blocks, twenty stories high. There was a reason it was called a city.

Every inch occupied by the ghouls of the Wen Clan.

But if they had a map . . .

(There was on part that had never been publicly revealed)

“Wen Ruohan’s office?”

Lan Xichen nodded, “He found it.”

Lan Wangji pulled back, turned to stare down at the sleeping Wei Wuxian. The One-Eyed Ghoul mumbled in his sleep, rolling over and snuggling up against Lan Wangji’s hand. A small bit of drool slipped out of his mouth onto his pillow.

“. . . Why didn’t you just tell me?”

The words were soft, hesitant. Unbecoming of the Vice-Director of the Commission to Counter Ghouls.

Lan Wangji half-inhaled, gaze tilted.

He kept it focused on Wei Wuxian, running his fingers over the One-Eyed Ghoul’s knuckles.

“Didn’t know how.”

“I wouldn’t have punished you. Or chastised you. Or . . . or . . . or whatever it is you were afraid of, I _promise_.”

“I know.” Lan Wangji blinked and oh fuck he was about to cry, “B-brother has been busy. And stressed. I didn’t want to b-be a burden.”

“ _Wangji_.”

“I can’t lose him, Brother,” he bit out, “I couldn’t bear losing him. If everyone knew, if Wei Ying got hurt, because of _me_ , I . . . I would . . .”

(What would he have done? What could he possibly do in a world without the one beside him?)

With trembling fingers, he lifted a spare hand to his neck, a single nail finding the silver chain hidden under layers of clothing and deftly lifting out the signet ring hung around it. A single cloud was meticulously engraved on its face, identical to the sigil the Lan family alone emblazoned on their white coats.

(Lan Xichen’s ring, intended for the next head of the family, had been hand-forged for him when he was born. Lan Wangji had inherited his from Mother.

She’d been deemed unworthy of it)

Tears dribbled onto the silver engraving.

“I know it’s _wrong_ ,” he whispered, “I know what the family would think. I know it stands against _everything_ we’ve sworn to be but I . . . it was just . . . I just didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Arms caught his shoulders and he turned to properly face his brother.

“Wangji.”

Lan Xichen was crying too, as his knuckles turned white against Lan Wangji’s shoulders.

He took a deep breath.

“Wangji, love is love. Whoever you love is entirely up to you. It is not bound by . . . by rules, or by what our family thinks. If this is how you feel, then you should embrace it. Wholeheartedly.”

Lan Wangji blinked at him.

Love?

(Did he . . . surely _his_ feelings couldn’t ever be so immense as to equal love?)

“And A-Zhan,” Lan Xichen gripped his shoulders, redrew his attention, “You have _never_ been a disappointment to me. You will never _be_ a disappointment. I’m so proud of you. And I love you so, _so_ much.”

Lan Wangji could barely breathe through his throat, as he reached out and buried his face in his brother’s neck, like he was five-years-old once more, crushing himself against Lan Xichen as his brother just hugged him back, equally fierce.

“Love Brother too.”

It was muffled by his brother’s shirt, barely audible, even less understandable, but a hand still stroked across his head. Lan Xichen had always understood him better than anyone else.

Tomorrow morning, their Uncle would return, and they’d have a war to plan.

Right now though? 

(It was just the two of them)

The following morning, Wei Wuxian woke up to a sore waist, a sorer head, _and still_ in the Cloud Recesses, but hey, Lan Wangji was still holding his hand, so it wasn’t entirely bad.

He even managed to remain impressively relaxed as Lan Qiren walked in, suit still damp from the rain and eyebrows furrowed. Underneath the blankets, Lan Wangji linked their fingers and the One-Eyed Ghoul squeezed back.

“Well done, Wangji. The nest you uncovered has proved vital in the missing persons case - the whole CCG will be mobilised to finish what you started,” Lan Wangji dipped his head in thanks, and Wei Wuxian tried not to swallow as those stern eyes turned his way. The man responsible for raising the uptight Lan Wangji certainly looked the type and despite the many assurances that he was marked down as a human, this man was glaring at him severely enough to convince him otherwise.

“Wei Wuxian, yes?”

He nodded, before straightening up and properly saluting as well as he could from his position in the bed, ignoring the persistent aches at his _kakuhou_.

(Fucking hell, Wen Qing was going to _flay_ him for this stunt)

“Thank you, sir, for letting me stay. And helping me.”

“Your thanks should go to Wangji,” the man responded curtly, “you are lucky to be alive. Are you not aware how risky it is to encounter ghouls? Had you died in the crossfire, it would have been justly deserved.”

(Well, isn’t that the nicest thing to say to a recovering patient)

He struggled to keep his face respectful.

“. . . With all due respect, Lan Zhan is my friend. I would have felt far more guilty by sitting aside and letting him face the danger alone.”

“He is trained. You are not.”

“I am aware,” he managed to make it sound polite, somehow, “but even if the situation were to occur once more, I would take the exact same actions. I do not regret standing alongside my best friend.”

Under the covers, Lan Zhan squeezed his hand, both admonishment and thanks and he felt his smile tweak upwards.

The man before him sniffed, unimpressed by his declaration, instead turning to his nephew.

“We will hold dinner in the hall as usual. I invite both of you to join us - you especially Wangji, you look positively thin. Concern is no reason to neglect yourself.”

“Yes, Uncle,” Lan Wangji bowed obediently, even as his brother looked vaguely panicked behind their Uncle, turning.

“Uncle, Wei Wuxian has only been awake since yesterday evening, he might prefer not to leave his bed.”

“The reports show he is well on the way to recovery,” Lan Qiren frowned, “staying in bed will only result in physical lethargy. He should be up and walking around.”

“Teacher Lan makes a good point. I’d be honoured to join you for dinner,” Wei Wuxian bowed, and Lan Wangji caught his brother’s eye, face subtly reassuring him that it’d be okay. If Wei Wuxian was on board, then he had no issues with his brother knowing of Wei Wuxian’s unique nature.

(Lan Xichen looked positively perplexed.)

Both of the men left the two and Lan Wangji turned to his partner, verbally checking anyway.

“You don’t mind?”

“Not particularly,” Wei Wuxian let his head drop back onto his pillow, “I’d be more concerned about pulling a fuss and making your uncle suspicious. Path of least resistance, you know?”

“Mm,” he reached out and stroked a stray lock back into place. Wei Wuxian caught the hand as he pulled it back, playing with his finger.

“You know there’s no point, right? My dad cursed me with eternally messy hair.”

“You like it.”

“I do,” Wei Wuxian nodded, beaming, “. . . I think a lot comes from my physiology? I have all those social wants humans have, but I’m more instinctively physical ‘cause that’s just the way ghouls are. Shijie says it’s why I’m so clingy.”

Lan Wangji tilted his head, moving closer.

Wei Wuxian laughed softly, “It’s a story.”

“We have time.”

Wei Wuxian seemed to appreciate that, expression brightening as he nuzzled in closer to Lan Wangji’s side, and he could only enjoy how right it felt.

“Well, one time when I was about ten, my shidi and I got into this huge fight. Uncle and Madam had been arguing and Shijie was stressed by it all, there was a big storm _outside_ and it kind of felt like the whole Clan was just buckling down the hatches, you get me? And we were so tense that we just lost it at each other. We normally would physically fight whenever we argued, but apparently Jiang Cheng was finding it ‘no longer fair’ to fight me, so instead we stood outside in the storm to see who could last the longest.”

“Unsafe. It was a storm.”

“Well, yeah, but we were kids and ghoul kids kind of have that invincibility complex except in spades, so we just stood outside in the rain and wind for about five hours, until we were both violently ill. They just bundled us with blankets, food and heaters and waited for our systems to run it out, but I apparently got really miserable. Jiang Cheng just slept it off, but I wouldn’t stop crying until Shijie came and let me sleep up against her. It was the clingiest thing they’d ever seen. Eventually, they just put it down to my human half needing social security.”

Lan Wangji ran a hand through his loose hair, and finally asked what he had been wondering from the very beginning.

“Was it hard?”

“Hm?”

“Living amongst ghouls. Yet. Not.”

“Ah, that,” Wei Wuxian reached out, idly playing with his long fingers, “it’s not as bad as you think. I have a few more quirks than most, and it’s always fun to freak out other ghouls by eating regular food. I think Uncle Jiang had to get a bit aggressive about me when I was a lot younger because I apparently smell really good? But after I got my _kagune_ under control nearly everyone backed off.”

“Wei Ying deserves better.”

“This one could have gotten a lot worse,” Wei Wuxian sent him a small sad smile, “When my parents died, I had no clue how to get food on my own. I wandered out of the house to look for them - was on the streets for ages before Uncle Jiang tracked me down. There’s nothing like me in this world, ‘cept for me. My story could have ended up a lot worse than two slightly protective siblings and a one-track path to first level honours at UniGu.”

“Not guaranteed.” He warned and Wei Wuxian laughed.

“Ain’t that right? After this whole mess is done, we’ll need to study our asses off to make up for this, won’t we?”

“Mm.”

“Ah, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian reached out, catching Lan Wangji’s cheeks in his hands, silver eyes glistening, “I’m so glad you’re my friend.”

Lan Wangji blinked at him, his gaze softer than ever.

“Mm. I’m also glad.”

Wei Wuxian’s smile tweaked up into a grin.

“In that case, would Lan Er-Gonzi mind staying? I want a bit of a nap before your nurses make me do _physical exercise_ s.”

“I’ll stay.”

“Okay then,” Wei Wuxian settled down slightly, head still pillowed in his arms, “Okay . . .”

As his breathing evened out, Lan Wangji settled down, content to remain there for however long Wei Wuxian wanted him to. Forever, if necessary.

_Oh._

_(Forever)_

His Brother’s words bounced in his head.

(Embrace it. Wholeheartedly.)

. . .

Fuck.

The physical exercises were not fun.

It involved a lot of walking and bending and stretching and people poking and pulling his arms and Lan Zhan was right in saying that he could jump multiple storeys without a scratch, but give him a break, he gave up on yoga in _high school_.

Look, just because Shijie could bend herself in half, and Mianmian could lift one leg up over her head and A-Yu could definitely dislocate his shoulder at will, it didn’t mean _all_ ghouls were flexible! #NOTALLGHOULS !!

On the flip side though, even the surgical scar had begun to fade, a long white line swiftly vanishing across his lower back.

Which was nice. More pretty. Less embarrassing for him each time he winced, and Lan Wangji was immediately there to check that his _kakuhou_ was fine.

Still though, he clenched his jaw and walked through them, and his regeneration had apparently built up enough that he’d probably be right as rain the following day.

He was just changing into some new variation of White T-Shirt to differ from the one he’d just sweated in, when Lan Wangji returned from arranging his pick up by Jiang Cheng the following day.

“Wei Ying.”

“Hm?”

“Would you like to walk?”

“Oh no, please, Lan Zhan,” he turned, immediately whining, “I just got changed, don’t make me do _more_ of those dumb walks.”

Lan Wangji remained in the doorway.

“. . . Around the Cloud Recesses.”

Wei Wuxian cut off his whiny tone, immediately brightening at the thought of going outside.

Into the Cloud Recesses.

“Um,” he swallowed slightly, “Are you sure that’s okay? Won’t it be bad if someone sees me?”

“They are all aware you are here,” Lan Wangji assured him, “they just don’t know what you are. No one will bother you.”

(. . . Really)

Lan Wangji appeared to be faltering, “If. . . if you don’t want to then-”

“No, no,” he skipped over to his best friend’s side, taking his arm, “if you want to, then I want to. It’s your home, right? I showed you mine. You should show me yours.”

Lan Wangji nodded, took his arm properly and escorted him out for a quick walk before dinner. The brisk evening air swirled around the strategically arranged tree line, a corridor of leaves hanging over them as they ventured off down one of the immense estate’s cobbled pathways.

The Cloud Recesses was . . . breath taking. Eerie.

It was like a painting, frozen in time, silent and still and every inch perfect. It was a place he could definitely see Lan Wangji growing up in.

(He felt a sudden surge to see his own)

“Hey Lan Zhan?”

“Mm?”

“Could I give Shijie and Jiang Cheng a call when we get back?”

His best friend blinked at him, before nodding, and pulling out his phone, “I will have an untraceable mobile phone sent to your room.”

Wei Wuxian just beamed at him and clung on all the more tightly.

Lan Xichen met them near the pond.

“Wangji. Young Master Wei.”

They both bowed in greeting as he smiled, “What are you two dong?”

“Lan Zhan was just getting me some fresh air,” Wei Wuxian clenched fingers around Lan Wangji’s arm, silently hoped Zewu-fucking-Jun wouldn’t think he were out snooping, “it’s beautiful here.”

Lan Xichen smiled, dipping his head in acknowledgment, “Not a bad idea - a bit of fresh air will be welcome before dinner.”

“Yeah, that’s probably fair.”

Lan Xichen hesitated here, “But . . . are you quite sure about this, Young Master Wei? We promised to help you - eating human food seems counter-productive.”

Wei Wuxian blinked at him, turning to the stone-faced younger brother. So, Lan Wangji really hadn’t shared his nature with Lan Xichen.

A surge of fondness welled up within his chest as he just chuckled and quickly filled in Lan Xichen on his biological loopholes.

(The man took the existence of an entirely new species surprisingly well)

He was just in the process of reassuring the elder that yes, human food was truly fine, no it wouldn’t bother him, and yes, he might need something more, um, _substantial_ , afterwards, when Lan Wangji’s phone rang.

The Special Class Investigator glared at it.

“. . . It is Nie Huaisang.”

“It’s probably about your quinque.” Lan Xichen spoke easily, “The engineering department’s had everyone come through to check none are damaged. It shouldn’t take you long to meet him at the public hall.”

Lan Wangji spun to look at him and Wei Wuxian sent him a reassuring smile.

“It’s all right, Lan Zhan, I can go back on my own.”

“I’ll escort him,” Lan Xichen added in, when the words failed to reassure the Special Class Investigator.

Lan Wangji’s phone buzzed again and he visibly stewed.

Wei Wuxian just reached out and squeezed his hand.

“People are depending on you, Investigator Lan. I can manage fine in the meantime.”

Lan Wangji tilted his head, lightly squeezed back and then hurried off down the 298th identical white corridor within the Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian watched him go, sighing.

“Well, I’d better go back now. All this walking is making me _tired_

Lan Xichen let out a quiet huff behind him, and he mentally reminded himself that this was Lan Wangji’s older brother, who Lan Wangji had to routinely cook dinner for, had stopped him from mending clothes, catching him before he added salt instead of sugar to an elder’s coffee.

(He was Zewu-Jun, and he’d gained infamy before Wei Wuxian had even entered high school)

“This way, Young Master Wei. Mother’s rooms are towards the north side of the estate.”

(. . .

Wait what)

“Mother’s?” he echoed incredulously, and Lan Xichen nodded. The pair began the walk back to the room, brisk but not enough to look suspicious. 

The word hung between them.

Lan Xichen inhaled carefully, but releasing the breath, in a cleansing manner he’d seen on Jiang Cheng slightly too many times.

“Do you know about our Mother?”

“I know she died from an illness when Lan Zhan was seven,” he carefully recalled, “That’s about it.”

"Our mother was a talented researcher," Lan Xichen responded without preamble and Wei Wuxian turned to blink at him, “and, yes, in her teens she was diagnosed with an aggressive motor degenerative disorder."

He thinned his lips, nodding.

The man beside him sighed.

"Mother believed . . . she _theorised_ that the cure was not anything made by humans but was instead found within understanding ghoul regeneration. She made it her life's work to unpack how ghoul biology functioned. She was desperate. And her desperation made her unethical."

"Did she experiment on humans?" He asked cautiously, but Lan Xichen shook his head.

"Ghouls. The CCG shut her down because she was threatening to incite a riot from the clans," he shuddered slightly, "and because they wanted her research."

Wei Wuxian remained silent, listening without comment as the man pulled himself together.

"They wanted to shut her away - hoard her knowledge. And in the struggle, she killed a very senior Investigator. She would have been locked up but . . . but our Father intervened.”

"They knew each other?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. My father wasn't exactly the sharing type. Uncle greatly disapproved but Father was the head of the family. The elders could only simmer as they married. The rooms you’re residing in now were the compromise - she was untouchable, the new Madam Lan. But she was never allowed out of those four walls. And soon, well, I happened."

He clutched his elbows, "Mother's disease was worsening with each day and the CCG refused to indulge her more vicious experiments. Her drive was apparently . . . quite intense. Uncle only learnt how far that extended right before Wangji was born though."

Wei Wuxian frowned.

Lam Xichen looked at him frankly.

"It would not be arrogance to say I was an abnormal infant. I grew too fast, too strong and too clever. I was not adhering to a human's standard." The Vice-Director's tone was flat, "Uncle found out, only a few weeks before Wangji's birth, that Mother had a whole strain of research she had kept hidden from her supervisors. And she'd been taking her new connection by the cup every day she'd been pregnant. She'd come to grips with her own inevitable end - so she had resolved to make her children indestructible."

". . . She found a way to imbibe ghoul DNA," Wei Wuxian frowned, “so . . . you and Lan Zhan are . . .?”

"We were certainly something," Lan Xichen sighed, "Uncle regimented our lives immediately - some of the elders wanted us killed on the spot. He instead showed how regardless of the effect our Mother's experiments had on us, we were nothing less than perfect members of the Lan family. We were only ever allowed to visit Mother once a month - and even that, I believe, was because Father pulled strings."

The small little condo lay before them, as they emerged from the cobbled path. A thicket of gentians swayed in the light breeze. Wei Wuxian thumbed at a few of the hairs on his elbow.

“Why tell me this?”

“Wangji told me about half-ghouls.” Lan Xichen paused, wavering, “For a moment, I thought . . . Wangji and I . . . whether Mother’s illness really was-”

“You’re not a half-ghoul, Vice-Director.”

Lan Xichen blinked, and turned to stare at the man beside him.

“. . . You know this?”

Wei Wuxian nodded briskly, tapping his nose, “They smell a certain way. You and Lan Zhan aren’t anything close - though I _have_ thought Lan Zhan could probably dent a doorknob with his bare hands.”

Lan Xichen blinked, huffed a laugh and reached out to the condo’s door.

The metal door handle bent easily under his grip. His finger even left indents as he let go.

Wei Wuxian stared at it, fingers steepled over his mouth. H turned to stare up at Lan Xichen’s eyes.

“Not gonna lie, that’s a little intimidating.”

Lan Xichen smiled down at him.

“I hope you keep treating Wangji well.” He just replied calmly, before swinging open the door and letting Wei Wuxian run past him.

As promised, the mobile phone was waiting for him on the bed, and he waited for the door to shut before he dialled Shijie’s number.

She answered during the first ring.

_“Hey, XianXian.”_

“Hey Shijie,” he grinned, “how’s the Clan?”

_“We’re fine,”_ she huffed slightly, _“The Wen have sent . . . messengers to both Koi Tower and Lotus Pier.”_

“What, ‘fuck off or we’ll kill you’, kind of thing?”

_“Fascinatingly enough, you were less crude.”_ Her disdain dribbled even through the call and he snickered, _“We’ll have to do something - but everyone’s hesitant. The Wen still haven’t claimed responsibility for the ring, but unless they do so, they can’t justify entering Yunmeng.”_

“Great.” He clambered onto the beds, legs folded beneath him, “How are the minor factions? The rogues?”

_“Most have gone undercover - a few have turned to the Wen Clan in hopes for mercy, but the majority and laying low. Hoping to live when the powder keg blows.”_

“None to us, huh?” he groaned, and she let out the little sigh she always did when she smiled helplessly.

_“Never mind that though,”_ he could picture her pulling back her shoulders, setting the problem to one side, _“How are you?”_

“I’m fine.”

_“I’m sure,”_ he _felt_ that smile grow, _“are you enjoying Lan Er-Gonzi’s company?”_ __

He grinned. That was easy.

“Of course! Lan Zhan is truly a gentleman amongst gentleman.”

_“He is, huh,”_ she snickered, _“I hope you at least use protection.”_

His heart skipped and beat and red burst over his face, “Shijie!”

She giggled.

“Lan Zhan and I are just friends!”

_“Of course, of course,”_ she mollified, still a trace teasing, _“we’ll see you tomorrow, XianXian.”_

“Yeah. Love you.”

_“Love you too~”_

The call cut off and he groaned, flopping backwards. Why did everyone think he and Lan Zhan were _dating?_

A-Yu, A-Qing . . . he’d even gotten a text consisting of nothing more than two highly suggestive emoticons and a question mark from Xue Yang. Like, don’t be mistaken, Wei Wuxian could see _why_ people would want to date Lan Zhan, who was sweet and kind and considerate and so god fucking pretty. Who made Wei Wuxian feel like something precious, worthy of protection. Who never made him aware that he wasn’t ghoul enough to be a ghoul, but not human enough to be a human, and instead just treated him like Wei Ying.

And Lan Zhan barely smiled but when he did, he did it in in _that way_ and it was _beautiful_ and and

and

. . . and

Slowly, he rolled onto his side and pulled the pillow against his chest.

(Oh

Shit)

Lan Wangji, outside his Mother’s room, heard a strangled scream from within and bolted.

“Wei Ying?!”

“YeS?!” the One-Eyed Ghoul leapt up from where’d he’d been lying on it, pillow absently falling from his hands. “Lan Zhan!”

He frowned, glancing him over, “Wei Ying, are you all right?”

“YEs!” Wei Wuxian yelped back, taking a few deep breaths, “I’m fine. Perfectly fine!”

Lan Wangji frowned at him, moving up close. “. . . Really?”

Wei Wuxian’s expression softened, “Really, Lan Zhan. You don’t have to worry about this one.”

He moved to take Lan Zhan’s hand, before freezing at the last minute and lightly patting the top instead.

“Dinner, yeah?”

Lan Wangji stared down at their hands.

He wanted to hold them.

Was that too forward of him?

He’d gotten so used to it, but was it making Wei Wuxian uncomfortable? Mo Xuanyu had assumed they were dating after all . . . and it had made Wei Wuxian so embarrassed. Was the idea embarrassing to him?

“Lan Zhan?”

He glanced up, blinking to find the hesitant look on Wei Wuxian’s face. “. . . Dinner?”

“Yes.”

He stood up and forced himself not to take his partner’s hand. He would respect boundaries.

“Let’s go.”

Wei Wuxian’s feet tapped the wood panelled floors as he hastily pulled on the slippers used to walk around the outdoor paths of the Cloud Recesses. Lan Wangji escorted him across to a more central building, the huge dining hall built communally between various apartments, often used for family functions.

And he wasn’t planning on it, but it did bring them through the Memorial Hall.

As the doors swung shut behind them, he barely hesitated, immediately moving onward, but the footsteps behind him didn’t.

“Lan Zhan.”

He turned, questioningly, to find Wei Wuxian gazing around the room, “What is this place?”

The walls soared out alongside them, each plaque meticulously kept and polished.

“The Memorial Hall,” he nodded at the wall immediately to their right, “for every Investigator that dies in service, a plaque is presented at their service and hung here.”

The One-Eyed Ghoul blinked and gave the room a much more deeper look over.

“ _All_ of them. Yeesh, who could remember them all?”

“I do.” Lan Wangji blinked back, “Every one.”

Wei Wuxian shivered slightly, hurrying up to his side and Lan Wangji tried not to be too giddy about how the One-Eyed Ghoul reached out to cling to his arm without any of the hesitation from before.

“. . . I see.”

They continued on like so, the dining hall just beyond, when Wei Wuxian froze, right near the end.

". . . Wei Ying?"

Wei Wuxian had paused, drifting closer to the wall, fingers ghosting over a plaque.

"Hey, Lan Zhan . . . do you really know every name on this wall?"

"Mm."

"Then who was this one?" He drew back his hand to lightly tap a finger against it.

Lan Wangji tilted his head, drawing up close to read it.

It was a date two years ago.

The perpetrator was 'the Child'.

“Fang Yanqian,” he recalled slowly, "Special Class Investigator. He was tracking a lead on a ghoul, code named the ‘Child’, when he vanished. All we found was a bloodstain and he was presumed dead.”

Wei Wuxian stared up at it, biting on his lower lip. "Did he have a family?"

"He was divorced from his wife - his son still works for the CCG but they'd been estranged for years at the time of his death.”

"So, he had nothing but his career, huh?" Wei Wuxian huffed, "Figures."

Lan Wangji turned to stare at him, but Wei Wuxian just straightened up and smiled tightly at him.

“Later, yeah? I really don’t want to be late for dinner.”

Lan Wangji blinked at him.

“. . . Later then.”

Wei Wuxian flashed him a grateful look, and immediately hurried off to the dining hall.

Dinner was a stiff affair.

They had a guest and were beholden to act appropriately, but all three of the Investigators had about four tasks awaiting each of them once it was over. Normally at such a time, none of them would even bother with proper dinner. 

Wei Wuxian, despite being warned of the ‘no talking whilst eating’ rule, looked supremely uncomfortable and Lan Wangji hastened to add more food to his partner’s plate to give him an excuse not to make eye contact.

Fortunately, there was always a break between entree and main courses for the Lan family’s tradition soup and it offered the pathologically talkative One-Eyed Ghoul a moment of respite.

“So, I know that Lan Zhan and Elder Brother Lan are Investigators,” he opened, _swinging_ his legs, “but what does Teacher Lan do? I saw you at the CCG that day, but you don’t ever appear on TV.”

Lan Qiren huffed.

“Archives, boy. The truest enemy of a ghoul is information.”

“Oh?” Wei Wuxian sounded like he desperately didn’t want to break face and Lan Wangji promptly kicked his shin under the table.

“Of course, I was an active Investigator in my youth,” Lan Qiren leant back as the soup was served, stroking his goatee, “I was working when the more infamous ghouls were around. The Hangman, the Violet Spider, the Tiger, the Veiled Lady-”

Wei Wuxian visibly choked on his soup, and they all turned to him.

"You've met the Veiled Lady?!" He asked immediately, before Lan Qiren could even open his mouth to comment on propriety, "What was she like?"

Lan Qiren frowned at him.

"Why on Earth do you want to know?"

Wei Wuxian flinched, curled in on himself a bit lower, "Ah, well, my parents died in an accident. The Veiled Lady . . she was involved."

Lan Wangji immediately frowned at him. He'd never mentioned there had been a ghoul involved in the crash.

Lan Qiren had drawn back in the meantime, frowning, ". . . The Veiled Lady was an enigmatic ghoul. She was active about twenty-seven to twenty-two years ago. She enjoyed meddling - attacked Investigators and clans alike. From what we gathered, she only seemed to care about her own amusement. She'd start fights, stir old rivalries, even provoke those uninvolved, and then never finished any of them. Creating chaos and anarchy seemed to be her only modus operandi. And then she went underground before we could properly lock onto her. I don't know why she might have been present at such an accident - but it was likely on a whim."

Lan Xichen winced across the table and Lan Wangji agreed that there could have been more tasteful ways of phrasing that.

Wei Wuxian though, surprisingly, seemed veritably chirpy.

"Thanks to Teacher, for telling me this!" He bowed and returned to the food before him with gusto. Returning their focus to their own food prompted all three to return to silence, and the matter was left to lie under the rest of dinner.

That evening, Lan Wangji trailed behind his cheerfully skipping partner, multiple thoughts churning through his brain and through his gut.

He decided to address the most innocent of them first.

"Wei Ying."

"Yeah, what's up?" Wei Wuxian turned to him at the door to Mother’s rooms, and Lan Wangji pulled him slightly inside and out of earshot.

"You never mentioned another ghoul was involved in the crash," he prompted, frowning. Had it been revenge? Had the Veiled Lady been after Wei Wuxian's mother?

Wei Wuxian's blinked, "What are you talking about? There wasn't another ghoul involved."

(Huh?)

Lan Wangji stared at him and Wei Wuxian suddenly burst into laughter.

"Oh Lan Zhan, sweet Lan Zhan," he lowered his voice, giggling in the way that made his curls dance, "I was just being a bit misleading at dinner. The Veiled Lady _is_ my Mum. I just didn't think Teacher Lan needed to hear that bit."

Lan Wangji stared at him. The Veiled Lady . . . Uncle's personal nemesis . . . the ghoul Lan Wangji had been hearing complaints about since he was five . . . was Wei Wuxian's Mother?

"Her name was Cangse Sanren," Wei Wuxian expanded, "but I barely remember her and I only really know about her from what Uncle says. I wanted to hear another's thoughts."

" . . . What does your Uncle say?"

"Pretty much the exact same!" He laughed fully, head flying high, "Mum was a total prankster! She loved stirring shit for the giggles of it. And, like, of all the ghoul's to _genuinely_ fall in love with a human, anyone else would have been looked down on for it but apparently the consensus about Mum was more along the lines 'yeah that sounds about right for her!" He laughed again, "And with Dad no less! Uncle Jiang's best friend! He tried to stalk their dates, he was so anxious she was going to mess with Dad!!” 

He danced around, turning his attention to the small sealed packet that had been left on one of the tables right before they’d arrived. Lan Wangji stared, somewhat fixed, as his partner ripped open the packet and scooped out the liver with his finger.

Most ghouls were messy eaters, but Wei Wuxian meticulously made sure not a single drop went anywhere but his mouth.

Wei Wuxian pulled a face.

“Bleurgh.”

“Is it not enough RC?” Lan Wangji sat down on the medical bed, and his partner huffed dramatically.

“Oh no, it’s _fine_ ,” Wei Wuxian rolled his tongue around, nose crunching, “but it’s an _internal_ organ and it’s been drowning in preserve. It’s like . . . like pickles!”

“There’s nothing wrong with pickles.”

Wei Wuxian made a face at him.

“Lan Zhan, you didn’t think there was anything wrong with that bitter as fuck soup we had tonight, so your taste buds are clearly invalid.”

Lan Wangji glared at him until Wei Wuxian’s indignation crumbled into mischief, and he sprawled easily over Lan Wangji’s lap, grinning up at him.

“Hey.”

“Hello.”

Lan Wangji exhaled.

". . . You are not the Child."

"I'm not," Wei Wuxian agreed affably, "A-Yu is."

(. . . what?)

"Mo Xuanyu?" He confirmed slowly, frowning at Wei Wuxian's nod, "How do you know this?"

The Child had been a barely proven existence - Investigator Fang hadn’t offered much information as he went back out to hunt it down, and his death had only been vaguely attributed to it. It was doubtful Wei Wuxian had just so happened to have heard about it. Even if it was Mo Xuanyu, he must have been listening in when the title was posted.

Wei Wuxian inhaled slightly, the shaky wobble he used to steady himself. "The Jiang Clan has always had rules against killing doves - it brings attention, media, hyperpolicing."

He reached up and fiddled with one of his forelocks.

"So, the one time I broke it, I made sure there was nothing left."

Lan Wangji processed it slowly and then iron clenched his gut.

"You've killed an Investigator."

Wei Wuxian's jaw clenched, guilt and defiance rolled into one, "I killed a sadistic bastard."

"He was doing his job-"

"Like hell he was!!" Wei Wuxian snapped over him and Lan Wangji paused, not pushing but not supporting.

Just waiting.

Wei Wuxian huffed, pulling back some of his loosening bangs, "Do you know about the 'Mother'?"

"No."

"That's not a surprise - she was hardly a threat, and she lived in a small Ward. But she'll probably still be marked down somewhere."

"Why?"

"She committed suicide."

Lan Wangji turned, properly scowling, "Ghoul's don't commit suicide. Their sense of self-preservation is their most pervasive-"

"I _know,_ Lan Zhan. Trust me, when I tried to explain what had happened, other ghouls just didn't process it. They were all immediately crafting reasons - suicide is unfathomable to them." He blinked several times, rapidly, "A-Yu certainly didn't understand. I first met him wandering his old Ward trying madly to find her.”

His lips curled.

"Or rather, I ran into him and the dove. You see, she'd killed herself by walking straight into a local CCG office and activating her _kagune_ in plain sight."

The Investigator above him closed his eyes.

(What happened to her was a four-step emergency plan in his brain.)

"Your dove had been hunting her - and he knew about A-Yu. So, he cut off her hand and dumped it under a bridge to lure him out. And he planned to kill A-Yu with his own mother's _kagune_."

Wei Wuxian took a short sharp inhale, "Have you ever heard the scream of a child about to be killed by the most personal organ of their dead mother? It's a once in a lifetime experience."

“You destroyed him.”

“A-Yu was _fifteen_ , Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian’s voice spiked, “he was so scared. And that dove was _laughing_. He said A-Yu’s feelings were _imitation_.”

The One-Eyed Ghoul blinked up at him, “When did humans get to decide they had the monopoly on emotions? When did ours become fake?”

Lan Wangji blinked back down at him, swallowing down every theoretical article that had been rammed down his throat.

“There are ghouls who kill without remorse.”

“There are humans who eat beef and look down on every vegan they meet.” Wei Wuxian huffed a laugh, “All of us have a choice, Lan Zhan.”

“You chose not to.”

“I’ve always had more leeway,” Wei Wuxian grinned, “And I’m still one of the weird ones.”

“True.”

“Oof.”

Lan Wangji huffed, got an arm under the body sprawled over his legs and deftly flipped Wei Wuxian properly up onto the bed.

“It is late. You should sleep. I will take you to Jiang Wanyin tomorrow morning.”

A hand caught his wrist.

(Surely it was just Lan Wangji’s imagination that Wei Wuxian was blushing)

“Can you stay?” he asked tremulously, “Please? One more time?”

Lan Wangji blinked at him, before standing up and pulling away. A small panicked whine escaped Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji immediately clutched his hand in reassurance.

“I will get ready for bed and return. You should too.”

Wei Wuxian stared up at him with wide eyes.

He nodded silently before Lan Wangji’s doubts could spill in.

The Investigator sprinted as much as the Cloud Recesses allowed, all the way to his apartment and back.

When he returned, Wei Wuxian had changed into the simple pyjamas that the Lan family had provided, blanket pulled up to his chin and restless.

He jumped as Lan Wangji stepped inside.

“You’re sure?” he asked, nervous, as Lan Wangji slid in beside him, but didn’t hesitate as Lan Wangji held out his arms for the other to cuddle in close. It was absolutely selfish of him, to still indulge in their proximity now that he understood the depth of his feelings, but Wei Wuxian would be gone tomorrow and he was too greedy to fight something Wei Wuxian visibly wanted.

As curfew arrived the lights were automatically dimmed, and the room was silent save for their quite breathing.

"Hey, Lan Zhan," he opened his eyes, meeting Wei Wuxian's as they absently linked their hands together, "do you remember your parents?"

He blinked. "I do not have many memories of Father. He was . . . absent. Mother . . . I knew she liked to smile. She was always happy to see me - she teased me a lot, according to Brother."

"Really? What about?"

"Apparently I frowned too much. I was resembling Uncle."

"You kind of do."

Lan Wangji frowned at him and Wei Wuxian muffled a snigger, shifting closer so that their breaths mingled. The Investigator shifted.

"You?"

"Not many," Wei Wuxian thought for a moment, "I have a lot of sayings from Mum - but it's more like they're just in my head rather than I'm actually hearing her. I do remember my Dad's laughter pretty clearly though - I think Mum loved to make him laugh."

He grinned, "Apparently he once told her that ostriches weren't romantic birds, so she set a whole pack loose inside the Jiang building."

Lan Wangji scrunched his nose, "Why?"

"To woo him."

"Did it work?"

"Well, they were already married then - so Madam Yu says the real sign is that he didn't divorce her on the spot."

“Your Father must have indeed loved her deeply.”

Wei Wuxian beamed at him.

(Lan Wangji never wanted it to fade)

“Will you be okay?”

“Of course,” Wei Wuxian beamed, “You guys have gone above and beyond!”

Lan Wangji’s lips quirked, but he forced himself to remain on track.

“And the Wen Clan? They surely know the Jiang Clan were involved in Qionqi. Like the CCG were.”

Wei Wuxian paused, expression dulling, “. . . They do. Right now, the clans are sitting atop a powder keg. And I don’t think we’re strong enough to stand against the Wen Clan. What about you guys?”

“We are under political pressure,” his grip tightened, “Brother hasn’t specified, but it likely those who receive their funding from the Sun Corporation.”

“We need to stop them,” Wei Wuxian agreed, “Before they stop us. I just . . . don’t think we can.”

“Neither party has the numbers.”

“Nor the strength . . .”

And then Wei Wuxian shot up.

Lan Wangji squinted at him, not the littlest bit pleased to now have their proximity rendered non-existent.

“Lan Zhan.” Wei Wuxian was staring ahead, a wide smile growing over his face. “Is Elder Brother Lan awake now?”

He frowned, rolling over and checking his phone.

9.45.

He was definitely meant to be. He was realistically not.

“Do you need to tell him something?” He sat up properly, picking up his phone and already pulling up his chat line with his Brother. Wei Wuxian nodded eagerly.

“And tell him to bring his phone while he’s at it - we’re going to need Jiang Cheng for this.”

Lan Wangji stared at him, as it slowly clicked in.

His fingers scrambled out the message immediately.

(He hoped it would work. But by all that was out there, the odds were stacked against them)

The following morning, Lan Xichen was waiting for him, and he fell obediently in step beside his Brother, the pair heading to the nearest car.

“Young Master Wei is all right?” Lan Xichen asked, as they joined their Uncle in the back of the vehicle, the chauffeur pulling out immediately. 

He nodded, “His family picked him up.”

Lan Qiren gave a brisk nod and returned to frowning at the huge datebook sent out to each captain, courtesy of the Vice-Director. Lan Xichen just sent him a wane smile.

The traffic cleared for the CCG’s upper power and Nie Mingjue was waiting for them as they stepped out, the entirety of the CCG’s upper hierarchy gathered along with select Special Class Investigators.

“Vice-Director,” First Lieutenant Fang Mengchen spoke up, “I hope this isn’t a trap.”

“It could be,” Lan Xichen replied calmly and several of their colleagues all grew agitated, “but we have no choice.”

“It can’t be helped!” Nie Mingjue snarled over the lot of them and the whole bunch shut up, “The Wen Clan isn’t just some overpopulated nest. We’ll need all the manpower we can bargain.”

“We are fortunate this talk has presented itself,” Lan Xichen added smoothly, “so let’s do ourselves a favour and not give them a reason to cut it short.”

“If this blows up in faces, the Wen Clan wins,” Nie Mingjue finished bluntly, before turning and striding into the office building. The dozen white coated individuals followed him, stern faced and keeping quiet.

A thin man met them in the lobby.

“On behalf of the Jin family, we welcome you,” he spoke, nose somewhat nasally, “before you enter please allow us to pat you down for weapons. We apologise for the forwardness.”

“Go right ahead,” Nie Mingjue stepped up without hesitation, Lan Xichen at his side. Slowly, carefully, the others followed suit, as a flock of suited servants searched for any gun holsters or quinque hilts. None of them commented that those they would be meeting couldn’t be disarmed.

(Lan Wangji wasn’t one to pray often. But right now, he desperately hoped Jiang Wanyin would hold up his end of the plan.)

Once the servants were satisfied, they all vanished back into the building, and the thin steward led them up a lift to the building’s 8th floor.

As the lift doors opened, they stepped out onto marble floors gilt with gold, and the lift on the opposite side opened in tandem. Neither party paused as they met halfway.

Leading the opposing back strode a ghoul in a bespoke suit, peonies of pure gold forming his cufflinks and his face hidden by a golden crown, the jagged spikes formed to be crossing and contorting over his face, rising up in bladed tips.

The Lotus Bride was on his arm, her veil drifting around an exquisite lavender Balenciaga vintage dress, sweeping the floor around her gold encrusted heels.

On her other side strode the Sandu Shengshou, purple long coat blood free and his three-faced masked sneering.

And rounding out the leading party came the Yiling Patriarch.

Alone out of the four of them, his _kakugan_ was visible in the cut away part of the mask. He was staring absently ahead, beside the Sand Shengshou, as the Prince Crowned in Gold stepped forward.

He saluted neatly and Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen followed suit.

The steward led thrm through doors to a conference room, and the key figures from each party sat down on opposing ends, the rest standing loosely around them.

“We hope this meeting is successful,” the Prince spoke, eloquence as refined as the Lans, “It is undeniable that the Wen Clan have broken all our treaties. They do not deserve any one’s blind eye.”

“I know they’ve tangled with the Jiang Clan,” Lan Qiren frowned, “but the Jin Clan have never struck me as the type to involve themselves.”

“The Wen Clan would destroy us all.” The Prince Crowned in Gold responded, tone cool, “many in my clan do believe we should lay low until this blows over - but if the Wen Clan is truly amassing an army of artificial ghouls then this isn’t just going to blow over. We _will_ stand against them.”

“Furthermore, we offer a chance,” the Lotus Bride spoke up sweetly, “we have good word that, the day after tomorrow, the Wen Clan seek to teach the Yunmeng Jiang a lesson. In other words - their forces will be divided.”

Lan Xichen frowned, “Are the Yunmeng Jiang not concerned about defending their own territory then?”

“Lotus Pier has never fallen,” Sandu Shengshou stuck his chin up proudly, “and they’ll be trying to intimidate us, not scare us. We’ll be there to strike when they’re unawares.”

“And what about you?” Investigator Yi turned to the Yiling Patriarch. “You haven’t said anything.”

The Yiling Patriarch blinked his lone visible _kakugan_.

“I’m here on behalf on those of the Wen who are not involved in the ring,” he spoke crisply, “Wen Ruohan and his sons have victimised those within their family as much as those outside of it. I’m here to ask that the treaty concerning the Wen Clan who have _not_ breached it be maintained.”

He glanced first towards his own compatriots. The Prince Crowned in Gold nodded first. Sandu Shengshou only did so once the Lotus Bride gave her own approving nod. 

The Yiling Patriarch then turned to the Investigators.

Nie Mingjue frowned.

“How uninvolved?”

“They were cast out,” the Yiling Patriarch’s tone was sharp, “hunted if they ever dared call themselves Wen in ear of the main family. Even their own members are amongst the missing.”

(There was rage in there and Lan Wangji desperately wished he could offer Wei Wuxian’s lone, strong shoulders reassurance)

“And what about you?” Investigator Yao squinted at him, “Are you not implying that you are one of these outcast Wens yourself?”

“I am not.”

“We second that,” the Lotus Bride added clearly, “he is not Wen. He is a neutral party. If he says they’re uninvolved, then they’re uninvolved. Lanling Jin won’t act against them.”

“Neither will Yunmeng Jiang.” Sandu Shengshou swiftly backed up his sister. Lan Xichen exchanged a glance with his own partner. Nie Mingjue huffed but made no protest.

The Vice-Director turned.

“This strike is because the treaty has been broken. We will not break it ourselves by attacking those who have not.”

The Yiling Patriarch dipped his head in thanks.

Nie Mingjue huffed, already getting itchy from all the talking. “Then now what? We’re in this together, but what can that do? The Nightless City is a fortress. Defensible and escapable.”

“We need to wholly crush the Wen,” the Prince agreed, “before their politicians can move.”

“How?” Lan Wangji eyed them curiously. “There is only one route into the Nightless City and it is easily sealable.”

“Only if you’re going by land,” Sandu Shengshou drawled. The Investigators straightened as he moved over the map of the complex.

“The Nightless City is built right up on the riverbank, which they pump though their lower levels. Yunmeng ghouls can get in there no sweat. We just don’t have the manpower to reach the main entrance’s controls.”

Lan Xichen stared, “Do you really think you can carry humans through there without drowning any nor getting spotted?”

“We swim fast,” the S-Ranked ghoul snarked back. The Yiling Patriarch quickly tapped the map Lan Xichen (cough) had provided. 

“There are multiple places concealed enough to serve as air breaks for any humans. If a smaller elite contingency can get in, they can open the path for the majority of forces.”

“Will all of you get in that way?” Lan Qiren asked carefully, and the Prince immediately frowned.

“No - Lanling Jin are not experienced enough in water to get in undetected. We were hoping we could hide in your trucks.”

“That won’t work,” Nie Mingjue responded bluntly, “CCG trucks are laced with anti-ghoul agents. Contact with them is nauseating. You can ride in them - but you’ll be useless when it matters.”

The Prince made a tight, irritated noise and Lan Xichen closed his eyes in thought.

“We have a few trucks that run without the agents - we only ever use them in bigger operations.” He glanced at Nie Mingjue, “If we have Investigators moving instead through water - and guard the less defended trucks with senior Investigators, we should be able to transport ghouls within them.”

The ghouls all turned to the Director. He scowled.

And nodded curtly.

“Furthermore,” Lan Xichen continued, managing not to glance at his younger brother as he did so, but Lan Wangji could tell it was a near miss, “the Qishan Wen appear to have developed some sort of sonar attack, specifically targeting ghouls. It nullifies _kakuhou_ manipulation.”

“Yes,” the Lotus Bride agreed tightly, “we too are aware of this. Thus, alongside the main gates, we hope that those who sneak in will also find the control system for any such attack. Ghouls will simply wear sound cancelling headphones and hope they work in the meantime.”

“Then it’s settled,” Nie Mingjue had always hated talks that dawdled on, “in two days, one group will sneak in by water, deactivates the main gate and any possible sonar attacks, while the majority wait to charge in, simultaneously offering a distraction to the Wen Clan within the building.”

They all nodded, all got up, shook various hands, and then Lan Wangji was leaving early, venturing down the lift and nodding to the steward as he exited ahead of the division captains, alongside the other Special Investigators.

Alone, he slid back into the waiting car, prepared to wait for his Brother and Uncle.

His phone pinged.

[WIFI]:

_so what are we doing tomorrow (_ ｡ _•̀_ ᴗ _-)_ ✧ _?_

He pressed his lips together and tried not to look too pleased by the time Lan Xichen returned.

Jiang Yanli loved her brothers. Fiercely. If anyone had the chance to speak with the infamous Lotus Bride, her love for her two adorable baby brothers would be the one fact they could all agree upon.

So, it was from a place of complete affection, respect and exasperation that she really wanted to slap A-Cheng.

“You’re positive we can’t chase him off?”

“ _Yes,_ A-Cheng. Stop being so obvious about this and activate your _kakugan_. We’re using shades for a reason.”

“With full respect, Maiden Jiang, I’d appreciate you didn’t.” 

“And what are you doing here anyway?” Jiang Wanyin turned, glaring and Lan Xichen just smiled at him helplessly.

The group of them were currently sitting around a small themed cafe table, trying very hard to keep an eye on the couple taking pictures under the theme park’s central fountain, fluffy ears on each of their heads. 

He carefully cleared his throat.

“I’m keeping an eye on my little brother. Like you.”

“Oh, A-Xian’s actually the middle child,” Jiang Yanli informed him pleasantly, “A-Cheng’s the little brother.”

“By _five days_ , it’s not that much, A-Jie,” the S-Ranked ghoul _pouted_.

They all stiffened at the sound of a familiar laugh, but Lan Wangji had simply knocked his ears askew. Wei Wuxian had paused in the midst of angling his phone and was now laughing over the crowd as he reached up to fix them, Lan Wangji’s hand still absently around his waist from the intended photo pose.

Lan Xichen clenched his fist under the table.

_Go Wangji! Brother’s cheering you on!_

“Unbelievable.”

“You all know how stupid this is right?” the fourth member of their group drawled, “they’re just on a date.”

“Nobody asked you to come!” Jiang Wanyin rounded on him, scowling.

Jin Zixuan, in line to become the next CEO of the Jin Family’s Enterprises and Estates, (The Prince Crowned In Gold, S-Ranked ghoul, _kokaku_ wielder, suspected member of the Gourmet Restaurant, Lan Xichen’s work brain helpfully supplied), just gave his brother-in-law a snooty look, a look greatly emphasised by his long and slightly crooked nose.

“I have a day off, and I want to spend it with my wife. I don’t need someone to ask me to do that.”

“Aren’t you meant to be watching my nephew?”

“ _My son_ is currently with Mother. It’s Spoil The Grandchild day.”

“Boys, don’t fight,” Jiang Yanli was still keeping a dutiful eye on her other brother, and both ghouls shut it.

(At such easy command, Lan Xichen felt a surge of admiration, and idly wondered if he should boost her rank to SS.)

Jiang Wanyin, meanwhile, snorted, “I’m surprised she offered. How many fingers is it now?”

Jin Zixuan preened, “A-Ling only bit off four yesterday.”

“You’re alright after that?” Lan Xichen glanced at the man’s hands, concerned, only to find them perfectly intact and immaculately manicured. “Isn’t that a bit vicious?”

They all shook their head.

“Ghoul babies bite,” all three said in sync, with varying levels of weariness. Jiang Yanli sighed.

“Ling-er hasn’t bitten me yet. I wonder why . . .”

“Because he adores you, A-Li,” Jin Zixuan smiled fondly and Jiang Wanyin nodded.

“As he should.”

_Such a good brother and husband? This Big Brother is impressed?_

And then he straightened.

“Ah, they’re moving.”

Jiang Wanyin let out a monumental sigh as now both the Vice-Director and his sister followed the pair with piercing focus. Across from him, Jin Zixuan remained completely still, before his lips tweaked up and he let out a single mocking snicker.

Jiang Wanyin flipped him off, growling as his brother-in-law snorted and refocused on the theme park’s map.

Thus, he was watching as Jin Zixuan frowned ever so slightly, before going rigid.

“A-Li . . .” his voice was sharp and they all turned to him, “they’re headed for the petting zoo. It’s about to run a display.”

Jiang Wanyin’s first instinct was a distinct ‘so what?’. The look on Jiang Yanli’s face clicked it for him.

“The event?” she asked, immediately agitated.

Jin Zixuan’s voice was grim, “Puppies.”

All three ghouls immediately reverted their attention to their original target, leaping to their feet in vivid panic, shades thankfully hiding the _kakugan_ blooming amongst all of them.

Lan Xichen just frowned in confusion, “. . . Pardon?”

“Come on, Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian pulled Lan Wangji through the least crowded bit of the path, hand warm against his wrist, “there’s a roller coaster that’s meant to go upside down like five times! I want to ride that one! Ah, but it closes early - we can’t ride it once the sun sets!!”

“Mm,” he carefully pulled Wei Wuxian’s hand down to his own, “we will get there quicker by passing through the Wild West section.”

“Ah! True, true, here, we can turn down this route.” Wei Wuxian settled down as they cut into a new section of the park, both walking side by side, arms defaulting to being linked. Lan Wangji adjusted the pair of bunny ears once again, turning to his partner.

“Is it the same?”

“Hm?”

“A roller coaster. With ghou-ood reflexes.”

“Hm, I wonder,” Wei Wuxian linked their arms now that their pace had slowed down, “you say ‘is it the same’ but I can’t really compare it - it’s not like I have a ‘before’ then ‘after’. If you really want to know, I recommend asking Song Zichen, but as for me, I like them. It doesn’t matter who I am.”

He nodded thoughtfully, “. . . You know they’re following us.”

“Oh yeah, Jiang Cheng’s as subtle as a brick outside of water.” Wei Wuxian snickered, “You know, he was totally going off at me for wasting our spare day, but he certainly doesn’t seem to have anything better to do.”

“Not a waste.” Lan Wangji added his own input grumpily,

(It was a small mercy that the very unsubtle party had only come near the end of the day)

Wei Wuxian beamed at him.

“I agree! Who could be wasting their time by spending it with Lan Er-Gonzi?! Are, this XianXian is truly blessed to be offered such a privilege.”

“I’m the blessed one.” He responded, earnestly and Wei Wuxian spluttered, spinning around to look up at him.

“Lies!”

“No lies.”

“Absolute heresy!”

“Nothing of the sort,” he leant in and Wei Wuxian didn’t pull back. They were close.

So close.

Lan Wangji’s heart flipped. Was this a chance-?

“Attention everyone-!”

“Hey there!”

“Welcome, kids-!”

The calls were coming from all over, and Wei Wuxian had easily admitted to getting sensory overloads on occasion. So, neither of them could be faulted for missing the particular announcement detailing the petting zoo.

But they heard the sudden cry of alarm, both turning to see a child releasing the lead they’d been giving, a park attendant hastening to catch it.

The puppy, an adorable fluffy Shih Tzu came gambolling right towards them.

And Wei Wuxian _screamed_.

Everyone spun to look at him in shock, Lan Wangji most of all, as Wei Wuxian pivoted and _bolted_. Quickly catching the puppy’s collar and handing it back to the stunned park attendant, he hastened after his partner.

He caught Wei Wuxian trying to squeeze himself through a tiny crevice in the wall, much to the amusement of the multiple children around him, head tucked in protectively. Hurrying over, he grabbed Wei Wuxian’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Wei Ying?”

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian’s voice trembled, terrified and hopeful in one as he slowly looked up, immediately brightening and throwing himself around Lan Wangji’s neck, “oh, Lan Zhan! Save me!”

He tried not to stop breathing as those arms squeezed him tight, managing to steady them enough and feeling a trace of satisfaction as Wei Wuxian stayed pressed up close.

“From?”

“The dog! Is it gone? Is it still there? I don’t want to go anywhere with dogs!”

Oh.

OH.

Lan Wangji felt the faintest stirrings of amusement, even if there was nothing amusing about how visibly distressed Wei Wuxian was making himself. Leading him over to a nearby park bench, slightly out of the way, he sat him down.

“The dog is gone.”

Wei Wuxian glanced around, twitching, before letting out a relieved sigh and squeezed him tighter.

“Thanks Lan Zhan! You saved my life!”

He let out a huff, “You are the world’s most dangerous predator, Wei Ying.”

“And dogs are vicious, _rabid_ , pack animals!” he immediately insisted. “What’s your point?”

“It was a puppy.”

“It will get bigger!!”

“Not by much.”

Wei Wuxian just wailed.

“Ah, isn’t that just right?! We could _die_ tomorrow but I’ll get ended by a _dog_ of all things the day before. Oh what cruel destiny!!”

“You’re not dying, Wei Ying,” his voice tightened without his permission, “today, nor tomorrow.”

Wei Wuxian’s dramatics stilled.

“Can you really guarantee that?”

His head was still thrown back, but his eyes had dropped to meet Lan Wangji’s. He nodded.

“As long as I am still breathing, you will not be harmed again.”

Wei Wuxian shifted, returning to a more standard position. His gentlest smile grew.

“You’re incredible, you know that?” His hand hesitated, just for a moment, before he reached out to pluck a leaf off of Lan Wangji’s hair, “really, truly incredible.”

“Only because of you.” Lan Wangji tilted his head, “Would you do the honours?”

“I’d love to.”

Wei Wuxian reached over, swiftly scooped up a stone and lobbed it into the nearest bush.

A voice groaned.

Wei Wuxian immediately grinned.

“Ah, the brother-in-law has to be worth double points, right?”

“Listen, Wei Wuxian, I can and _will_ take away your A-Ling visiting privileges.” The voice immediately snarked back, sounding thoroughly disgruntled.

“Come out,” Lan Wanji tipped his head back, ensuring his expression was as unreadable as possible as Lan Xichen smiled down at him.

“I’m not meddling?”

“Unnecessary. Leave.”

“I was going to offer you a lift.”

Lan Wangji pushed him, churlish and his Brother just smiled at him like it was _cute_.

Wei Wuxian, meanwhile, had been completely taken by Jiang Yanli, beaming yet also pouting dramatically as his older sister fret over him encountering his most horrible of horrible fears.

(Her husband just arched his eyebrow disbelievingly over her shoulder

Wei Wuxian flipped him off cheerily when she was distracted)

Lan Wangji obediently stepped off the bench to give his partner space for his sister, as Lan Xichen retreated to call their valet.

“Hello stalker.”

He sighed internally. “I am not.”

Beside him, Jiang Wanyin looked like he’d sucked on a particularly sour lemon, ghoul taste included.

“I _know_.”

“I will not harm Wei Ying.”

“ _I know_.”

“He is too important to me.”

Jiang Wanyin squinted at him.

“You’re just rubbing it in now, right?”

Lan Wangji blinked at him, once. And nodded.

The ghoul cursed under his breath and Lan Wangji exhaled, suitably invigorated enough to deal with whatever the other wanted to say.

“May I help you, Jiang Wanyin?”

Jiang Wanyin remained silent for the briefest of moments.

“Do you know why he hadn’t eaten? Why he got caught off guard like that? Did he tell you?”

Lan Wangji frowned at him.

(His gut twisted)

Jiang Wanyin just shook his head, anger leaking off him, “Wei Wuxian is, and has always been, a ghoul. I don’t give two shits about what people say he isn’t. He’s never so much as stepped a foot off our path. But around you? He holds back, keeps his _kagune_ restrained.” His jaw tightened.

“He’s been avoiding eating ever since he started hanging around you.”

(Lan Wangji’s jaw tightened too)

A hand at his shoulder made him jump.

Wei Wuxian beamed at his brother, “I’ve touched base with Shijie. Can you go get the car? I’ll say bye to Lan Zhan quickly and meet you there.”

Jiang Wanyin just sighed.

“Sure whatever,” he sent Lan Wangji one last look, before turning and marching off, meeting his sister and brother-in-law partway. 

(His words were like stones)

“I love him, but the gods above know that sometimes I want to hit him,” Wei Wuxian snickered, turning to properly face his partner, “so I’ll see you tomorrow then~?”

Lan Wangji faced him, faced that beautiful beaming face.

“Wei Ying?”

“Yeah?”

Lan Wangji pulled him closer and stroked back one of those unruly locks. In the setting sun, Wei Wuxian’s sparkled silver.

“Tomorrow, don’t hold back.”

Wei Wuxian blinked, before laughing, a bit tightly.

“Lan Zhan, what are you talking about? I have to hold back otherwise-”

“You said it yourself.” He interrupted firmly, “We could die tomorrow.”

Wei Wuxian blinked, shoulders rising and falling, “And what if . . . what if I don’t want you to see me? What if you don’t like what you see?”

He lifted up that chin and resolved that the next time they did something like this, he’d have the strength to lean in to close the gap.

“It will always be infinitely better than never seeing you again.”

Wei Wuxian blinked, rapidly, the reflex that made Lan Wangji’s gut clench in case his partner started crying.

But Wei Wuxian just swallowed and quirked his lips up in a grin.

“In that case, I might be a little late tomorrow. Can you wait for me~?”

“However long it takes,” he spoke desperately, hopefully, longingly.

Wei Wuxian tilted his head. The lock Lan Wangji had tucked back once more fell, loose and free.

“Tomorrow then.”

(Tomorrow)

“Tomorrow.”

And around them, the sun finally dipped below the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what?  
> Fuck it. Updates are now Wednesday. Tuesday is rubbing me the wrong way.  
> (And now watch me update next week on Thursday -_-)
> 
> So, I got back from Japan yesterday and I posted the last chapter literally the day I was leaving for Japan, so when I woke up today to do this chapter what I had to work with was SHAMBLES.  
> I would like to thank you all for being so patient with me.
> 
> Also, I was reading all of your lovely comments on airport wifi which is the Most Reliable of internet connections, and definitely an appropriate place to want to bury my blushing face in a pillow and squeal.
> 
> My brother has cemented his Good Sport status and is currently onto episode 5 of the Untamed. Jury is still out whether he has watched this far because he likes it, or he doesn’t want to hurt my Feelings.  
> He is currently remembering everyone by the colour of their clothing which is great because we got to episode three and his response was ‘fuck now they’re ALL in white’
> 
> Let 👏 the 👏 Lan bros 👏 comfort hug 👏
> 
> Brain: are you really going to break limited perspective just to prove that Wangxian should never be trusted with their own romance?  
> me: Yes.  
> me: Absolutely.
> 
> FUN FACT wwx does not smell like a ghoul so dogs don’t know to leave him the fuck alone  
> JC does smell like a ghoul. So he also suffers, but for the opposite reason
> 
> Autocorrect: switches Sandu to Sandy  
> Me: . . . pfft
> 
> JZX: I am going to use my wealth to find a way to ferment coffee beans. Because a double espresso is not strong enough to deal with this bullshit


	8. memories of times my laugh was innocent

The CCG’s convoy of vans were an attention-grabbing mix of awe-inspiring and threatening, dark grey bricks on wheels roaring down the street, the rest of the traffic breaking wheels to get out of the way. The trucks were heavy duty and anti-ghoul - someone had once bet money that a tank could drive into one and come out _worse_.

(He’d won that bet)

The newest, largest and leading ones were all new or newly done up, prowling the streets.

The rest trundled along, the huge unwieldy axels jolting at each ditch in the asphalt.

Lan Wangji’s own truck hit a particularly bad dent and the whole back of the truck went shaking, Investigators thrown back and forth in the seats lining the walls.

_“Attention Passengers - we will arrive at the Nightless City in ten minutes. Please get ready and standby.”_

Lan Wangji could feel his heart wanting to pound, hand in hand with his blood wanting to race. Instead he just checked over his quinque for the twelfth time.

Across from him and in an identical seat, the Prince Crowned in Gold adjusted a few strands of hair that had fallen free of his ornate crown.

For a moment, their eyes were level, they offered the other a curt nod, and then went back to their business.

(His hands were almost trembling)

The radio pinned to his lapel crackled and he obediently reached up to play it out, as very eye focused right on him.

_“Wangji_.”

“Here.”

Nie Mingjue’s usual grunt was a crackle through their closed line.

_“Our job is to hold focus off Xichen’s unit - have the truck’s gunners ready.”_ __

“Sir.”

He cut off the radio, and quickly switched to a more private line, lowering his voice.

“Brother.”

_“Wangji_.”

“We will arrive at the North Gate in less than ten minutes.”

_“All right - we’ve almost reached our own drop-off point. I’ll see you soon, all right?”_

“Mm.”

He thought he heard a chuckle come through.

_“Might I get to hear your rumbling thoughts?”_ __

“Is Wei Ying with you?”

There was a pause, _“No, he isn’t. The Sandu Shengshou presumed he went to you.”_

Wei Wuxian had definitely not joined up with the vanguard force. A small ball of worry threatened to form.

(“In that case, I might be a little late tomorrow. Can you wait for me~?”)

He took a deep breath and signalled the driver. The man saluted and the sections in the roof began to open up, ready for the huge gunners, the ones they had to affix to the trucks because carrying them wasn’t an option, to take opening shots at the huge gates of the Nightless City.

“Good luck, Brother.”

_“And you, Wangji. Stay as safe as possible._ ”

He nodded even though Lan Xichen couldn’t see it, cutting the call.

Every face in the truck was watching him, even the ghouls. Slowly, he unclipped the seat belt.

“Prepare yourselves.”

On the far side of the river, a good kilometre up from the Nightless City’s water pumps, a single truck pulled to a stop and those within stepped out in neat formations.

The Yunmeng Jiang were already there, waiting, and the Sandu Shengshou stepped out in front.

“Wrap these around your torsos.” He spoke stiffly, tossing over a tied-up bundle of rock-climbing harnesses.

There were almost double the number of ghouls as there were Investigators, the vast majority of the CCG forming part of the vanguard.

Lan Xichen nodded, untying one of the harnesses and the rigid Investigators around him hastened to follow his lead.

“Check your quinque seals again,” he spoke over the frantic scratching of nylon threads, “we can’t have any accidental unfurl whilst we’re underwater.”

There were a couple of nods, a couple more muttered swears.

The few engineers who were coming looked positively terrified. Nie Huaisang’s grip tightened around his phone, upon which the map of the city was illuminated, was white.

“You sure we can trust this, Xichen-ge?” He tapped it lightly, “I don’t know what we can do if their control hub is wrong.”

“We’ll take it one step at a time, Huaisang,” he assured the other softly, “first, we just need to get in.”

“It should be fine,” the Sandu Shengshou held up his own phone, containing a more aerial view of the surrounding waterways, dotted with blue lights, “these are your breathing spots. I had some people do surveillance - they won’t get seen by the Nightless City’s cameras.”

“Then we’ll contact Da-ge on the second to last one,” Lan Xichen decided, “and wait for them to move into sight before clearing the last distance inside.”

“Then we’ve just got to sneak through the most heavily ghoul infested building in the world, without being seen and with two-thirds of our people temporarily deafened.” Nie Huaisang looked ready to either cry or wail. In fact, he might even be preparing for both, “We’re all going to die.”

Lan Xichen squeezed his shoulder.

The Sandu Shengshou made a vaguely unimpressed grunt, instead turning around to directly face Lan Xichen.

Those three outlandish faces all glowered at him.

“You ready?” Sandu Shengshou’s voice echoed out and Lan Xichen nodded. He spared a glance around the rest of their unit and each Investigator sent him the all clear signal. Even Nie Huaisang pulled himself together enough to simply be on the _verge_ of tears.

He turned back to the ghoul.

“We’re ready.” He pressed a button on his smartwatch, “Da-ge? We’re heading out.”

_“Understood,”_ Nie Mingjue’s voice ground through, _“we’ll be at the main gates of the Nightless City in five minutes. Make sure you don’t breach 500m until then.”_

“You got it,” Sandu Shengshou flicked a hand and the Yunmeng Jiang all gathered around him. Each one brought out their _kagune_ , the light dancing in coloured speckles through the bioweapons.

“Just try to lay flat,” the ghoul instructed curtly, “Otherwise you’ll get whiplash.”

Lan Xichen blinked.

“We’ll be in water-”

“I know what I’m on about.” He waved curtly and the whole party turned, beginning to wade down the stone steps. The Investigators falling, holding the trailing ends of their harnesses, all of which seemed to end in a small rough metal cylinder.

Ahead of them, the lights of the City shone gold over the horizon.

As one, the whole group submerged.

Lan Xichen blinked as the Sandu Shengshou came to his side and, instead of taking hold of the metal end, he instead lightly pushed up his mask and grabbed it with his teeth.

And then they were off.

Between one blink and the next.

(The Jiang Clan thrived in water - it made up seventy percent of their ward, and a good eighty percent of the water was deep enough to vanish down to depths only ghouls could survive without protection.)

Lan Xichen knew this, theoretically. But it was still startlingly to witness all the _kagune_ spontaneously tense and immediately flare into action, sending the ghouls shooting off through the water like torpedos. The Zidian was a whirling propeller ahead of him, a jet stream of bubbles pouring back over him.

They’d stop for the briefest of moments, only long enough for the humans to take fresh breaths, before the ghouls plunged back down, a pack moving as one, deep out of sight of any security cameras.

On the penultimate breathing spot, Lan Xichen held up his hand and the whole group waded in place.

“Da-ge, we’re here.”

“ _Good. We’ve just arrived. Hold position for half a minute before heading in_.”

“Understood.”

He let his hand drop and turned to the Sandu Shengshou.

“You can definitely get us in?”

The ghoul nodded.

“We’ll be heading in the out pump - it’s less protected because only ghouls can really swim against it. You might want to keep equalising on the way in though.”

An Investigator’s stopwatch beeped. Thirty seconds down.

They all took breaths and down they went.

They surfaced in the southernmost wing of the immense complex, the Yunmeng Jiang leading them in all rising oh so slowly out of the surface break. The few guards standing watch over the river bound pumps were brutally dispatched, torn apart by _kagune_ and quinque before they even realised there were intruders.

“Where are we heading?” Lan Xichen sheathed Shuoyue, turning to Nie Huaisang in the same motion. The engineer flicked through the digital copy of the map.

“Further south - it’s on level 27, near the bridge between the south and west wings.”

“Wen Ruohan’s office is meant to be in the West wing, right?” the Sandu Shengshou glanced over it. “Seems awfully open.”

“It is the longest route from the main gates,” Lan Xichen pointed out, “It does seem more safe.”

The Yunmeng ghoul shrugged, uncaring about the finer details. The Vice-Director exhaled.

“I would advise all ghouls put in any ear plugs now,” Lan Xichen decided, “they’ll activate it once they realise there are ghouls here.”

The Yunmeng Jiang nodded, all fishing and out shoving in the ear plugs, and that was their cue to stop talking and start moving.

The wing was thankfully empty, though as they climbed higher, the main levels were full of alarms blaring over the intercom, cameras fixed on the bombardment being unleashed upon the main gates by the vanguard.

The few who had kept to their posts were quickly dispatched, the division moving through the corridors at a sprint. Any ghouls with _ukaku_ made a point of shooting down any CCTV cameras they spotted shifting ahead.

Nie Huaisang, in charge of the map but also the least physically capable of the group, called out directions from his perch atop the Sandu Shengshou’s back, utterly unbothered by the _bikaku_ his feet continuously bumped up against.

A problem arose when he called for a stop and they found an empty room.

“Did you read the map wrong?” Lan Xichen asked, staring around the vacant room of office cubicles in confusion. Nie Huisang shook his head quickly.

“I followed the route exactly, Xichen-ge.”

As the Vice-Director frowned, the Sandu Shengshou just turned to one of the younger ghouls and jutted his head at the window. She nodded, unfurled two multihued twirling _rinkaku_ , and unlatched one of the windows. They watched as she easily crawled out, sinking her _rinkaku_ into the side of the building to act as wall hooks. They all waited, tense, as she vanished up out of their sight, shifting and pacing.

She returned by dropping out of a ventilation shaft.

“It’s here, but two storeys up.” She relayed, speaking slightly too loud.

“So, did you misread the map?” the Sandu Shengshou looked back over his shoulder and the engineer defensively held up the map.

The floor was as he had read. Two levels off.

“It’s not entirely correct?” Lan Xichen spoke the thought aloud.

“Then could other bits be wrong?” An Investigator whispered.

“What if Wen Ruohan’s in an entirely different place?!” the ghoul beside him hissed with a faint note of panic in her voice.

“Everyone, calm down,” Lan Xichen’s voice cut through the building fervour, as he turned to Nie Huaisang, “Can you find an accurate version of the map?”

“It will likely be where the gate controls are,” he pointed out.

“Then we’ll head there immediately,” he turned to the ghoul who’d gone scouting, pointing up and clearly speaking so she could read his lips, “Did you see a regular way up?”

She nodded, “There’s a fire escape nearby. Follow me.”

They hurried after, climbing the stairs as subtly as a whole unit of Investigators and ghouls could. Sure enough, in the exact same spot (just two levels higher), the main control room spread out.

“Let’s get started,” Nie Huaisang slid off the Sandu Shengshou’s back and his team of engineers all nodded, the whole group hurrying under some unknown knowledge to various places on the huge spreading computers, some fiddling with the power boxes, others cracking into the main frames.

Nie Huaisang slid into the seat belonging to the largest one and a password request opened up. He deftly opened a window and began typing in strings of code.

“Xichen-ge, this might be where,” the entire room turned red and the Investigators all jumped as alarms began blaring, “they figure out we’re here.”

“Everyone, get ready!” The Sandu Shengshou whipped his _bikaku_ as the red lights danced across unfurling quinque and _kagune_ alike, as those capable of fighting prepared to defend the tensely working group of engineers.

The first wave of Wen ghouls were absent-minded, probably convinced the alarm had just been accidentally tripped, and they barely had time to haul out their _kagune_ before the group within the control centre ambushed them.

The second and third waves following behind were a lot more vicious.

The fighting was quick and brutal, the infiltrators trying to keep them away from the fragile technology as efficiently as possible, their surprise and finding fight-capable ghouls enough to catch them off balance.

“Xichen-ge!”

He spun around, right as Nie Huaisang began downloading a huge map from the main screen.

“What did you find?!”

“Wen Ruohan _is_ in a different place. He’s way over in the _East_ wing.” Nie Huaisang yanked out a chip, “There’s a huge broadcasting room nearby - I can’t get the map to Da-ge directly, but I should be able to transmit it to the CCG’s command truck. They can get it out to the vanguard.”

“Deactivating sonar transmission!” One engineer yelled over them, yanking down on a lever. Almost immediately, an entire section of the power wall sparked, shutting down immediately with a dying whirr.

“Main gates seized, ready to open on command!” another called, as the ghouls unplugged their ears.

Lan Xichen was still thinking.

The map was compromised. Which meant that . . . A-Yao . . .

(Had Wen Ruohan caught onto him? Had it even been him that texted it?)

Anxiety coiled in his gut.

“I got the original map from an inside source,” he spoke tightly, “I believe he’s been compromised and I’d like to track him down.”

Nie Huaisang blinked at him in surprise, opening his mouth.

“Okay then,” the Sandu Shengshou spoke over him, flicking blood off his tail, “I’ll take Engineer Nie to transmit the map - you go on ahead, and the rest of you can rendezvous with the vanguard at the Central building. That work for you?”

Lan Xichen nodded, hoping his gratitude showed as the rest saluted.

He turned to the still waiting engineer.

“Open them.”

The vanguard were moving even before the main gates had fully swung open.

About five ghouls slammed their bodies straight into the huge gates and the force sent them thundering back even faster as the main force came charging in. Nie Mingjue tore easily ahead of the pack, his roar a sound without words.

The Wens who’d been safe behind their walls not two minutes ago barely had a moment to prepare themselves before the infamous Baxia erupted and the CCG’s Director cleaved the monstrous quinque through four bodies. The Prince Crowned in Gold dashed forward in the opening created by the end of the swing and a _kokaku_ of golden ivory aggressively unsheathed along his right arm. The duelist danced through the Wen ghouls, his rapier-like _kagune_ flickering as it divided them sternum to skull.

Lan Wangji didn’t bother with Bichen, twirling through the front of the wall and simply slicing them to pieces with Wangji’s string.

Nie Mingjue held up his quinque.

“Barriers!”

Streams of soldiers, carrying _kagune_ -proof shields and armour, marched in, forming into lines where the first wave of Wens had been taken down. The rest of the CCG lined up behind them, flicking the safety off their guns.

“FIRE!”

The CCG unleashed a volley of Q-bullets, ripping apart the ghouls. Any ghouls that made it through were dispatched quickly and efficiently by the Investigators’ quinque and the Lanling Jins’ _kagune_.

The front entrance of the Nightless City was a huge forum, glass windows stretching out on either side, and multiple lifts dotted along the walls. The lift doors were blown off and waves of ghouls came crawling out through the chute, more rushing in through adjoining corridors and even more opening up the internal windows to take aim with their own guns.

“Second shields up!” Nie Mingjue’s voice boomed, as the bullets above aimed true, taking down soldiers with perfect accuracy. The first wave kept their ground, Lanling Jin ghouls supporting the necessary force needed as the wave crashed against them. “Soldiers, keep firing forward, Investigators, take out the gunners!”

The white-coated figures all nodded, and Lan Wangji turned his attention upward. He sent Wangji shooting up, the end sinking into the walls, before whirring it back together. He allowed the momentum to carry him up, unfurling Bichen in the same moment that he slammed through the nearest window and tore his blade through multiple ghouls. He powered between flickering _kagune_ and bullets alike, every strike needing to be deadly, no time to waste on multiple attacks. Around him, the walls of the entrance lit up as the other Investigators arrived, their priority targeting the ones wielding guns.

Lan Wangji’s blade dripped freely with blood as he left behind the now silent corridor to regroup with the majority of the vanguard. Already, soldiers were being carted off in stretchers, some body bags.

Even a few of the golden masked ghouls shuffled off some of their dead.

This entrance was meant to catch the Wen off guard, and whilst it certainly had, if _this_ was what their ‘off-guard’ forces numbered as, he was dreading what it would look like when the clan regrouped and tackled them head on.

“Front entrance secured,” a captain reported beside him, as Nie Mingjue split one of the last ghouls, a particularly crazed one, apart from head to toe, “requesting location of infiltration team.”

_“South Building_ ,” one of the engineer’s voice crackled through all their radios, _“our main group will intercept with the vanguard in the Central building.”_

Lan Wangji frowned, lifting his own mouthpiece up, "Main group?”

_“Yes, sir. We separated from the Vice-Director and Engineer Nie.”_

Lan Wangji felt naked fear tighten in his gut and forced it down. Lan Xichen was stronger than he was. He’d be fine. Nie Huaisang though . . .

“Was Engineer Nie secure?” That question came from Nie Mingjue, voice tight, and his response came not from an engineer but one of the Yunmeng ghouls.

_“Young Master Jiang was with him. He will be fine. There was a discrepancy in the map we received - we located a new one and they are trying to transmit it through.”_

There was an error in the map?

Which meant it had been sent out, either deliberately or accidentally tampered - either way, it implied that Meng Yao had been compromised.

Perhaps by Wen Ruohan himself.

Realising exactly where his brother had likely vanished off towards, Lan Wangji’s anxiety spiked.

“We should go,” the Prince Crowned in Gold came up beside them, glancing around sharply, “we can defend here, but we should try and push through the narrower corridors before the Wen regroup.”

Absently, he flicked an intestine off the tip of his _kokaku_.

“To the Central building then,” Nie Mingjue heaved his quinque up onto his shoulder, “we rendezvous with the Infiltration division.”

“And the map?” Lan Wangji asked, neatly recoiling both his quinque. The Director shook his head.

“Well leave that to Huaisang. We’ll hold ground until we get the transmission.”

“Sir.” He saluted and the Prince Crowned in Gold just whistled a string of commands across his clan.

The front force began to march in and the more common soldiers Nie Mingjue had negotiated from the military began to stream in after them, an army traversing through the Nightless City’s North wing.

As they reached the footbridge connecting the North to the Centre, Nie Mingjue found himself raising a fist.

“Shields up!”

The order echoed through the captains and division leaders, each one halting in defensive position as the three most capable fighters in the vanguard stepped out.

The lone ghoul standing on the footbridge inspecting each of them in turn, pausing briefly on the gold clad ghoul to sneer.

Nie Mingjue hauled up his quinque, and Lan Wangji twirled his own. The Prince Crowned in Gold elongated the tip of his _kokaku_ , and jagged edges ever so slightly began to form along the outer blade.

Wen Xu cracked his neck and tied his flame-like mask onto his face.

The Firelight’s _ukaku_ flared out from his left shoulder, crackling like a bonfire.

Without a word, all four charged.

The doors of Yunmeng Jiang’s estate swung open easily and Wang Lingjiao arched up her neck as she glided in.

Jiang Yanli was waiting alone beyond the gates, a smile on her face because when wasn’t there a smile on the Lotus Bride’s face.

Oh, Wang Lingjiao had been excited for this. She would enjoy making that smile crack.

“I would like to see your clan leader,” she held up a folder, “as a _personal demand_ of Master Wen.”

“Of course,” Jiang Yanli bowed neatly as she stepped aside and gestured for the whole party of Wen ghouls to step inside, “Mother is waiting for you in her parlour.”

Wang Lingjiao bristled. “I said clan _leader_ -!”

“Father is currently out on business.” She cut through sweetly, turning on heel and drifting off across the walkways of her maiden home. Wang Lingjiao ground her teeth and sailed after her. She had five elite members of the Wen family with her and twenty grunts at her back. The ever so cautious Jiang Clan would surely not be so arrogant as to try any funny business.

And, when push came to shove, her real ally was the order waiting to alert the Wen clan should they try to retaliate. If they didn’t bow now, they’d bow when the Pier fell.

“Miss Wang?”

She blinked, and then folded her arms. “What? Are we to be made to wait?”

Jiang Yanli blinked doleful eyes, “Of course not. We have reached my Mother’s parlour - she’s waiting beyond.”

Wang Lingjiao sniffed, “Then if you’re not doing anything, why don’t you fetch your brother and that half-breed - my business concerns them in particular.”

(Jiang Yanli’s fingers tightened against her sleeves. As always, digs at Wei Wuxian were easy, easy bait against the Lotus Bride)

“A-Cheng and A-Xian are not here,” Wang Lingjiao froze at the cool tone, “So, I’m sorry, but you might just have to wait.”

She let out a huff and threw her head. Jiang Yanli just bowed, and Wang Lingjiao marched past her, right into one of the Lotus Pier’s main sitting rooms.

The Violet Spider was indeed sitting within, reclining against one of the lounges with a book in her hand and a glass of thick, viscous red liquid in the other. Even as Wang Lingjiao drew herself up, Yu Ziyuan did nothing more than roll it around perfectly manicured nails - the vintage was evident from the way it congealed against the rim of the glass.

“I was told an emissary of the Wen would arrive at our doorstep today,” she mused, not looking up from her book, “we have important business concerning the ongoing relations between our two clans. Would you mind telling me when they’re getting here?”

Indignation flared.

“Do you really think this is the time to joke, Madam Yu?” she demanded coldly, “ _Your_ clan are the ones who attacked some of our holdings _unprovoked_. As Young Master Wen’s woman, I’m-!”

“But you’re not, are you~?” the matriarch interrupted, smile coiling up onto her face, “Last I checked, you’re her maid.”

Wang Lingjiao saw red.

“I am here on behalf of Wen Ruohan himself!” she placed fingers against her heart, chin high, “What are you, except river rats? What can you do against the might of the Wen? Do you really think you hold any _power_ over me-?”

And the Violet Spider snapped her book shut and hurled it into her face.

The force behind it carried her straight to the ground.

“Little rodent,” the voice was iron, cruel and aloof, “you are not one to speak of power. You who hides behind others cannot speak of power. We are not human. We are ghouls and we adhere to survival of the fittest. The _only_ power a ghoul can possess is the power to _survive_. And now? I am going to teach you _exactly_ who here wields that power.”

Two other ghouls emerged from the side doors, identical down to the twin dagger-like _kokaku_ slinking out from their sleeves.

(There was no instinct stronger than self-preservation in ghouls.)

And all of a sudden, Wang Lingjiao was feeling a bit like hers was under threat.

“Wh-what are you planning? If you attack me, you might as well declare war on the Wen Clan!!”

Madam Yu arched an unimpressed eyebrow. “What did you think the boys were doing?”

She immediately spun around, already yelling for her grunt squad.

“What are you just waiting there for?! Attack them-!!”

She cut herself off, throat closing up in panic. Before her, the Lotus Bride slowly lifted her head from where it had been bowed over clasped hands, her smile replaced by a thin line.

The last of the grunts hit the ground, thoroughly unconscious as the tail ends of the mist-like _ukaku_ regathered itself at her shoulder blades.

Something _crackled_ behind them. Wang Lingjiao spun in horror, only to see Madam Yu rising out from her chair, purple lightning already sparking at her tailbone. The Zidian began to appear but had barely formed half a shape before the _kakuja_ split into four jagged spindles, each twitching out and snapping into sharp angles.

The Violet Spider purred as she stroked a loving hand over the four charged limbs.

“Now do bring out your _kagune_ \- I have to test whether they’re worthy enough to be added to mine~”

The four bioweapons clashed in sparks and severed RC cells. The Firelight was disengaging immediately, darting around with speed even an _ukaku-_ user could boast of. The Prince Crowned in Gold rolled his shoulder blade and the ivory _kokaku_ , a right angle along his arm, immediately shifted into a ’T’ with another blade protruding backwards. The Firelight hissed as it jabbed into his gut, and both Investigators were immediately striking. He ducked under the mighty Baxia but couldn’t dodge the quicker slice to his kneecaps from Bichen. The Prince Crowned in Gold spun free in the moment their quinque connected, dancing back and twirling the tip of his _kokaku_ to strike through the _ukaku_ shards that the Firelight had tried to fire at the two Investigators at point blank range. The Firelight growled, letting out a whistle, as he shoved himself free.

A wave of Wen ghouls came charging towards them, _kagune_ at the ready.

Shields formed around them, the unit prepared to defend the three fighters.

It turned out unnecessary.

A cry sounded from the back of the advancing Wen ghouls, and the whole pack paused, looking back.

Taking them out from the rear came the Infiltration division, ghouls and Investigators alike cutting off the Wen’s escape back over the bridge.

“You’ve got to be fucking with me-!?” the Firelight turned, growling, _kagune_ spiking at the sight.

And in the moment of weakness, Nie Mingjue stepped forward and cut clean through Wen Xu’s neck. A dreadful silence fell over the Wen ghouls as their First Young Master’s head sailed from his body, rolling along the footbridge in a trail of blood.

The Director finished his swing by hurling it straight into the still standing body, carrying enough force to send it flying and pin it against the glass wall of the footbridge, a spider’s web of cracks immediately flaring around it.

He yanked his quinque free and rested the dripping weapon on his shoulder.

“So who’s next?”

The Wens all bailed but found themselves pinned between two groups of their suddenly energised enemies, morale spiking so quickly that it sent the rest in a gleeful frenzy, cleaving their way through to secure the Central building.

Lan Wangji was just cleaning the blood off his blade when his secured phone pinged, the sound echoing across every phone around him.

Nie Mingjue’s laugh echoed the loudest.

“So, Wen Ruohan tried to trick us, huh?” He turned and pointed towards the east bridge, “We’re got a new heading!”

The force mobilised and columns of soldiers began the march on the East wing, the Investigators and ghouls taking care of the stray ambushers on the way. They crossed through the Central section of the building, and took the east bridge easily.

“They want us to come.” The Prince Crown in Gold sneered, removing his rapier tip from a stray Wen ghoul’s _kakuhou_.

Lan Wangji nodded, as Nie Mingjue easily cleaved three apart.

“They’ll have been regrouping there.”

They entered the East wing proper and Nie Mingjue turned to the captains and division leaders gathered around him.

“This is where they’ll hit us. Have shields constantly up. Expect-!”

He cut himself off, all the ghouls tensing as the more finely tuned Investigators held up their quinque. Ahead of them, it had looked like an empty corridor, just like all the other office corridors that they’d fought their way through.

“Above!”

The group split as the ceiling collapsed, right at the moment the walls were all shattered to pieces, ghouls swarming in from all sides. Gun fire lit up the collapsing rubble and Lan Wangji grabbed the Prince Crowned in Gold’s arm.

“Clear the rubble.”

The ghoul sneered at him.

“I guess you guys can’t muscle it, can you?” he turned and whistled curtly. His Clan mobilised on command, _kagune_ immediately turning to open up the CCG’s line of sight. Lan Wangji targeted any ghouls with stronger than average _kagune_ , cutting them down as effectively as he could.

And all around them, the walls and ceiling were still collapsing.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Someone near him mumbled.

Ahead, they could see the huge blast doors protecting the way through to Wen Ruohan’s location.

They could see this because the entire wing was collapsing in a rush of temporary walls and ceilings, the entire building, stretching around for hundreds of metres, up, down, front, side to side, all of it was nothing but scaffolding and steel walkways.

And every square centimetre was occupied by a Wen ghoul.

Dotted amongst them were a few select ghouls with only one glowing eye, faces almost overtaken by tension and stress.

Lan Wangji almost balked.

(. . . Holy fucking hell)

“Form up!”

Half the military mobilised at Nie Mingjue’s roar, torrents of people fanning out to defend the ones with guns, the ghouls and Investigators dotted around them. The Director himself ground his jaw, snatched up someone’s rifle and shot across the whole building.

The Q-bullet ricocheted off the blast doors without so much as leaving a dent.

Nie Mingjue sneered and chucked the gun back to its owner.

“Our goal,” he held up Baxia’s tip, “is Wen Ruohan!!”

The vanguard echoed his roar.

And the Wen Clan slammed into them.

Jin Guangshan let out a soft ‘hmph’ as he watched his golf ball land perfectly at the flag, a couple of kilometres away.

“I’m telling you, Jiang-xiong, our kids are planning something.”

Jiang Fengmian hummed in query, stepping up beside him and weighing his swing for a couple of seconds, before striking the ball into the air.

“What makes you say this, Jin-xiong?”

“Well, I heard about the hubbub at Qionqi, dreadful business of course,” they watched the ball land true, both matching each other point for point in terms of hole-in-ones, “but the _rumours_? Terrible, unbelievable.”

“What terrible rumours?” Jiang Fengmian turned to him, frowning in concern as he flicked a few strands of grass of his club.

Jin Guangshan huffed himself up, “I heard your boys are _fighting_ with Qishan Wen, of all packs. The Three clans have stood as equals since the end of the Civil War, and I find it absurd that they’d even be contemplating the idea. And my people have heard talk of teaming up with the doves, of all people! It’s outrageous! And not to throw a bad light on you daughter, but she does allow her brothers to influence her so much, it’s even rubbing off on Zixuan!”

Jiang Fengmian nodded thoughtfully, “I’m sure it’s nothing - young folk always need to make a bit of mischief to carve out their place in their world.”

“It’s indecent!” he huffed again, and the Jiang Clan leader gave him a polite pat on the shoulder.

“I’m sure another round will help. Shall we?”

Nie Huaisang felt that he lasted a decent amount of time before a stray pack found him.

He squealed as an _ukaku_ shard landed dreadfully close to his head. He’d taken off running, trying to get as far away as he could, trying to glance both ways carefully each time the path split, before just shaking his head and shooting off randomly. The merry chase led him down to the lower levels of the South wing, finally ending up in a dead end located right near one of the pumps, the huge vat of water shifting under a thin platform that led to a door on the other side of the room.

He hurried across and let out a faintly distressed groan as the doorknob didn’t budge with the jangle of a lock.

“You know, you’re not all that impressive for a dove.”

He spun, to find the stray pack of guards that he’d run straight into now advancing along the platform.

Absently, he opened his fan and began desperately wafting air onto his face.

“Oi, he’s got the embroidery though,” one of them flicked a finger at his held up sleeves, where the black threads encircling the sleeve hems, stylised like brawling beasts, marked him as a member of the Nie family, “the Phoenix wants those ones alive.”

The one closest to him sighed, disintegrating his _bikaku_ , “Fine then. We’ll just grab him.”

He reached out to take a hold of the engineer’s collar.

And then the ghoul stumbled back with a scowl, a line of red blooming across his face from cheek to cheek.

Nie Huaisang returned the fan to shield his face - the bloodied frame sparkled.

In the dim lighting, the panels seemed to shimmer.

( _Ukaku_ shards)

“All members of the Nie family are required to carry a quinque when out in the field,” he let out a slightly nervous chuckle, “so, um . . . stay back?”

The ghoul he’d attacked just huffed out his nose. “It’s just one quinque. Get him!!”

They all dashed for him.

Nie Huaisang flinched back.

And a purple shape soared across the group in a rain of water droplets. A hand snatched the first ghoul of the pack and yanked him along, completing the breach by slamming back into the water and vanishing.

The other ghouls immediately cloistered together.

“Yunmeng?” one of them growled.

“Stay together - next time he strikes, stab him!”

“Sir!”

Their _kagune_ all flared upwards, each forming a tight circle.

A purple _bikaku_ stabbed up between the fragile metal platform, coiled tightly around a ghoul’s ankle and _yanked_.

The ghoul screamed as it was dragged straight through the grating planks, vanishing into the depths below.

The formation broke up with startled cries, too slow before the powerful shape broke the surface once more and easily dragged a third back down.

Two bodies had floated to the surface, ripped apart and blood mixing with the water.

“We try to catch him underwater then!” Another suggested, stiff, “Everyone together!”

They all roared and about a quarter the group jumped in, _kagune_ bared and encircling.

The entire water lit up as bright electricity discharged and burnt through them all.

And as all of them were very nicely distracted, Nie Huaisang reached down to his belt and flicked the detonator he’d set up earlier. The roof shuddered as the bombs set up there went off, ripping through rafters and supports and even the roof. The ghouls all screamed as the rubble slammed into them, crashing through the water and churning it into a wave pool streaked with blood. Idly, he resumed fanning himself.

Something broke the surface of the water behind him.

“OI,” Jiang Cheng clung to the side of the platform with white fingers, “next time, let’s set off the bombs _after_ I’m out of the water, yeah?”

Nie Huaisang bit down on his lip, behind his fan, “I’m sure Jiang-xiong had no issues with it at all!”

The ghoul glowered at him, hauling himself out of the water. “Did you transmit the map to the vanguard?”

“Successfully.” he inspected the chip, “Now that we’ve taken out the last of the guards, we just need to regroup with Da-ge.”

He watched as Jiang Wanyin stood up, shaking himself dry and squeezing some blood out of his clothing. 

Nie Huaisang swallowed, “And, umm . . . still no word of Wei-xiong?” 

Jiang Cheng’s face grew sourer, “Nope.”

“I’m sure he’ll come.”

“Considering he got us into this whole mess, I’ll break his legs if he doesn’t!”

Meanwhile, in the far depths of the East wing, Lan Xichen narrowly avoided swearing as he was sent, back first, right into a wall, carrying enough physical force to dent it.

Wen Ruohan ambled slowly towards him, _kagune_ not even out. He gripped the Vice-Director’s coat and hauled him out, slamming him into the ground.

Lan Xichen gagged as his shoulder cracked in a way it shouldn’t.

The ghoul chuckled, stepping back as the human twitched on the ground, shoulder muscle spasming in an attempt to control the pain.

“A good attempt, I won’t lie.” He mused, “Still a bit disappointing. I was expecting more - your Father once took a nick off my _kagune_. But I heard he wasn’t exactly available to pass on any of his wisdom.”

Lan Xichen ignored him, teeth grit, “ _Meng Yao._ _Where is he_?”

“Meng Yao?” the Clan leader echoed, before mirth filled him and he broke into raucous laughter, a secret gleam in his eye, “Ah, you came here to find him, did you? Were you _worried_ about him?”

He grinned, “It’s almost too tragic.”

“ _Wen Ruohan-_ ”

A foot came down on his back, and another ground into his right wrist, preventing him from undoing Shuoyue.

It twisted.

“Your little brother is here, isn’t he~? Ah, it’s been so long since I got to taste Lan flesh.”

Lan Xichen resisted the instinctual disgust and rage that pooled in his gut, instead twisting his neck back as far as he could.

“You will lose tonight.” He spoke, voice calm and confident and _ice cold_ , “It’s just a matter of when.”

Wen Ruohan huffed, turning away.

And then he stiffened.

Slowly, he chuckled, and glanced down.

“Ah, I’d almost forgotten,” he mused, examining where the skin on his underarms had begun to freeze up and crack, “Lan Investigators make a point of wielding two quinque don’t they?”

And Lan Xichen took his spare hand away from concealing Liebing’s slow emitting mist to instead snatch up Shuoyue and lunge.

( _Hours._

They’d been fighting through the opened building for hours, battling on metal frames, darting between scaffolding.

Lan Wangji cut down another ghoul, and just watched as the most recent attempt to crack open the blast doors failed.

Even Sandu Shengshou’s arrival couldn’t do more than scratch them.

The night ticked over midnight, and they fought on)

The Nightless City was a beacon, every window lit up, assuming the form of its own sun in the middle of the night bound world.

Wei Wuxian gazed down at the immense building, high atop one of Qishan’s mountainous parks, leaning against a metal railing. His black cloak slipped between each bar in the wind and his mask dangled loosely from his fingertips.

“Wei Wuxian.”

He twisted, leaning his elbows and shoulders back against the barrier. Before him, the Medic tilted her head, long beak dipping.

“Are you sure about this?”

He nodded.

“I’m sure everything will be fine.”

She let out a distinctly disbelieving hum and he snickered. “Everyone else?”

“Waiting on your signal.”

“A-Yuan?”

“With Granny.” She let out a sigh, “I even brought out the Legend of Nezha box set. Six hours of completely distracted toddler.”

“Well, that’s our bases,” he twisted his neck back, “and what about you, O’ Fearsome Ghost General?”

Two feet made light thunks as the ghoul landed atop the barrier, feet either side of Wei Wuxian’s head.

“Ready.”

“And you know what to do, right, A-Ning?” he checked casually. The Ghost General nodded amicably.

“If you go too far, I kill you.”

“Excellent!” He lifted up his mask and tied it over his face. The eye in the open burnt as his _kakugan_ activated. “Well then, Yiling. It’s time for us to join this party.”

The cry came not from a Wen, but one of the Jin’s ghouls, hurling herself onto an overlooking metal frame and screaming from the top of her lungs.

“THE YILING PATRIARCH!!”

Every ghoul froze.

“THE YILING PATRIARCH AND HIS GHOULS ARE HERE!!!”

“YUNMENG JIANG, MOVE!” Sandu Shengshou’s voice roared over the racket, and every single purple clad ghoul fled, the gold and red close behind. Hands were on Lan Wangji, the CCG fleeing in vicarious terror.

He stayed firmly in place, Nie Mingjue’s grip painful against his elbow, as he fixed his gaze on the place they were all fleeing, the Wen in increasing desperation as their immense numbers bottlenecked their exit routes.

The whole building rumbled.

“Wangji, if the Sandu Shengshou says move, we should listen,” Nie Mingjue rumbled into his ear. Lan Wangji stayed where he was, even as another tremor had the whole ceiling creaking.

It was Wei Wuxian.

The Yiling Patriarch was Wei Wuxian.

He didn’t have any reason to be afraid.

The far wall let out a single, pained shudder.

He waited for a characteristically dramatic entrance, for a door to come flying, a dead ghoul to be thrown in.

The scream of twisting metal roared around them, the whole building seeming to shake.

(The entire wall came crashing down.)

Lan Wangji remained frozen, unable to breath. The Director was a statue at his side.

( . . . _That_ was Wei Ying?)

Wei Wuxian had said that he had never bothered to count how many tendrils he could call upon. Lan Wangji had presumed that he had been incited by a mix of the lack of control combined with his ever-present laziness.

Now, he was wondering if it had simply been impossible.

Wei Wuxian was a black speck, floating in the centre of a mountain of darkness. Each bit writhed and twisted every tendril alive and agitated, crawling forward in an uncontrolled mess, each tendril slipping over its neighbours in their relentless move forward. Wei Wuxian’s laugh rang out, cold and hysterical, as he advanced, the floor cracking beneath the mass of his _kagune_ , walls, walkways and reinforced support pylons all crumpling like paper upon contact with the untamed nightmare taking up the equivalent of about three storeys. He didn’t so much attack as he did run over the Wen ghouls, screams lighting up the centre as ghouls in red were overwhelmed by the black _mass_ slowly advancing.

(Once when Lan Wangji was a child, he had seen some of the gardeners in the Cloud Recesses discover an ant hill. Whilst they’d gone to get proper pest control supplies, some of Lan Wangji’s more distant cousins had thought it funny to run the poor things over with their bikes.)

Now, he could only stare as the Wen ghouls were crushed underneath the murderous weight of the Yiling Patriarch’s hundreds of tendrils, physically crawling over each other in a useless attempt to escape.

Around him, other ghouls were slinking in through the collapsed wall.

One dropped right in front of Wei Wuxian’s actual body, a huge skull hiding his face. With a howl, he dropped onto all fours, as a _kokaku_ erupted, visibly painfully, twitching and contracting as if trying to yank itself into becoming an _ukaku_. The thrashing _kagune_ grew in one swift movement, spreading out and draping over the ghoul’s body. They all watched as the ghoul screamed, _kagune_ clawing at his own body to form an exoskeleton.

“Break it down~” the Yiling Patriarch’s voice coiled over the screams, pleased and the Ghost General roared in response, charging. The Wen desperately turned _kagune_ and guns alike against the charging ghoul, but they all harmlessly bounced off the invulnerable armour. The ghoul slammed into the reinforced gates, trampling any ghouls who didn’t get out of the way fast enough. The huge gates visibly bent and the Ghost General reared back, arms increasing in size as his _kagune_ pulsed, and he pounded against them.

With huge terrified squeals of metal, the metal bent, and the doors flew open. The Yiling Patriarch giddily clapped his hands as the bunker inside was finally revealed, stepping down on one of the hanging walkways, as his _kagune_ shuddered, flaring out and destroying everything around him in the process.

“Injured here!”

The horrified daze, settled amidst the spectating ghouls and Investigators alike, was blasted away as one of the Yiling Ghouls dropped herself right into their centre. The Medic glanced around, quickly and clinically, immediately pointing to some of the injured being supported.

“Here.”

The Yunmeng Jiang and Lanling Jin hastened to comply, hauling their injured to where she was pointing and clearing space. Her gaze snapped over to the frozen Investigators.

“Are you all deaf?!” she snapped, “There are critically injured here! And we don’t have enough people to waste attending to them!”

As she spoke, her own _ukaku_ was partitioning out, long and skeletal, like a million needle-thin fingers all wafting around her. She produced surgical thread and her _kagune_ picked them up and threaded itself easily, millions of minute hands cleaning, stitching and staunching injuries. Those few Investigators still in a stupor didn’t get the moment to stew before the twitching feathers grew too impatient and deftly pinched the coats of the injured and yanked them closer to the Medic.

In the chaos, as the suddenly unburdened Investigators began calling division captains to reorganise, Lan Wangji slipped closer.

“ _That’s_ the Yiling Patriarch?” he asked, voice tremulous and the Medic sighed.

“Absolutely. It’s your fault entirely,” she told him, flat but not accusatory, “you’re the one who gave him the ahead to go all out. Dealing with him is your responsibility.”

A peeling laugh carried through the chaos, Wen ghouls screaming as they were juggled through the black _rinkaku_.

Lan Wangji frowned.

“Is he . . .” he didn’t really know how to phrase it, “cognisant?”

She huffed, “Vaguely.”

Lan Wangji swallowed, but quickly turned at the sound of boots landing behind him. The Sandu Shengshou straightened up.

“You know, I wanted him to continue eating properly,” he greeted surly, “it wasn’t an invitation to get him to go full behemoth on us.”

“This has happened before?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Plenty of fucking times.”

“It’s always a pain.”

“First time was when he was thirteen - you should have seen the looks on everyone’s faces.”

Lan Wangji processed it slowly and the Medic sighed from where she was examining a very infected looking bite mark.

“Investigator Lan,” she turned to him, arms folding, “have you ever heard of the Dragon?”

He blinked and shook his head. She nodded.

“Didn’t think so.” She stewed for a moment, “About 100 years ago, a ghoul developed an unfathomably powerful _kagune_ known as the Dragon. Nearly nothing is known about it them, except . . .”

She reached up and tapped a finger over her right eye, “their _kakugan_ was only seen in one eye.”

Lan Wangji tilted his head.

(In the background, the moving mountain breached another set of walkways)

“A One-Eyed Ghoul?”

“We think so - though, like I said, the literature’s sketchy at best. Wei Wuxian found it whilst hunting for other One-Eyed Ghouls and from what we gathered, One-Eyed Ghouls have really, _really_ , easily transformable _kagune_. Something about their extreme regenerative capabilities enabling quick adaptation, or something, I don’t know, he was rambling about it at three in the morning.”

Lan Wangji frowned, “So this is . . . normal, for a One-Eyed Ghoul?”

“If you believe sketchy literature that a science student discovered on page 67 of the uni library at 2.30am, then yes.”

The whole building rumbled as the Yiling Patriarch collided with another wall.

“He’ll bring the building down,” Lan Wangji realised dimly and the Sandu Shengshou swore.

“Okay, we need him out of here. Hanguang-Jun, take responsibility.”

Lan Wangji glowered at him, but the Medic was also nodding in agreement.

(He spared one more glance the way of the moving mountain.)

Swallowing, Lan Wangji swung himself beside Nie Mingjue with Wangji.

“Director.”

“Can we trust them?” the Director immediately asked, eyeing the contingent of ghouls assisting the Medic, all of whom had arrived along with the Yiling Patriarch. Lan Wangji dipped his head.

“They are precise, and well educated. Their expertise is trustworthy, as is their loyalty.”

Nie Mingjue nodded curtly, before turning his attention back towards the now ripped off blast walls.

Lan Wangji glanced at them.

(He glanced at the lone speck hovering above a sea of black and blood)

Nie Mingjue startled as he saluted.

“Director,” he spoke quickly, before the other could interrupt, “I will distract the Yiling Patriarch. Please go after Brother.”

Nie Mingjue blinked, before nodding curtly and saluting in response, “I’ll find him no matter what. Watch yourself.”

The two Investigators wasted no more time, both immediately taking off. Lan Wangji didn’t watch as his Director went charging through the doors, instead focusing on hooking himself up to one of the few hanging walkways that the Yiling Patriarch hadn’t yet rampaged through.

(And then he froze)

What could get his attention?

What could draw his focus but wouldn’t reveal his identity?

(. . . Ah!)

He broke off the top pole of part of the walkway’s railing and deftly strung Wangji’s cord back and forth across the new space, poising his fingers against the string.

The notes he plucked were tentative, soft, lacking its second half.

(The Yiling Patriarch paused anyway)

Lan Wangji played without blinking as the behemoth turned its attention his way.

He kept playing without pause, restarting without so much as skipping a beat, as the huge figure slowly twisted, every single tendril touching the ground having to rotate.

Slowly, almost curiously, the Yiling Patriarch drifted closer.

And he uncoiled the quinque, flinging himself backwards just as the One-Eyed Ghoul attacked. About forty tendrils all struck the walkway he’d been perched upon and he distantly watched as it was reduced to scrap metal in seconds. He hooked himself into the nearest wall and threw himself through one of the windows, immediately sprinting off down one of the nearest corridors.

Glass and cement imploded behind him and he spared a minute glance back over his shoulder.

Flickering at the edge of his vision came the shadowy figure. He must have dissolved a solid majority of the _rinkaku_ to fit inside the single level corridor, but he could hear the distinct rumble as the One-Eyed Ghoul dragged his huge _kagune_ along for the chase.

(He just needed to get Wei Ying away)

He took turns as soon as they appeared, jumping down stairs, hooking himself up others, twisting and turning as much as he could to lure away the walking earthquake chasing him down.

(And then what? How was he meant to calm Wei Ying down? His ancestors knew he’d never been able to do so much as quiet him.

What was he meant to _do_?)

He took a final right and paused to find the sounds growing distant, a faded rumble around him. 

Had the Yiling Patriarch taken a wrong turn?

Lan Wangji felt something tense and he changed his direction right before a clawed hand took out the wall near his chest.

Wen Chao swaggered out, cracking his neck, his ever-present shadow already straightening up. The clawed _kokaku_ shivered amber.

“Hey there,” the Wen’s Second Young Master sneered, “‘White Rabbit’.”

Lan Wangji could feel his blood bounding, panic fighting against his control.

He was capable of beating them.

(He needed to get Wei Ying away)

He could beat them quickly.

(Wei Ying was quicker)

Wen Zhuliu struck and he stepped lithely aside, wrapping Wangji’s string neatly around the outstretched claw and severing it clean off. The artificial ghoul had barely dropped two steps before the limb’s fibres were twisting a new hand out from the stump. He moved closer anyway, stabbing forward with Bichen and sending sparks flying as the artificial ghoul threw up his _kagune_ to block it. He disengaged, immediately darting away behind a different corner, but the artificial ghoul just came at him from the other side. He threw up his quinque to block, but the kick still ricocheted through his torso and he grimaced as his three broken ribs reminded that yeah, they had been broken not even a week ago.

Wen Chao swaggered behind his muscle.

“Now, now, Wen Zhuliu,” he grinned, “Father wants all their leaders alive. It’s been a while since he’s had pets~”

Lan Wangji bunched his legs, preparing to take off again, but Wen Zhuliu matched him stance for stance and the Wen’s Second Young Master sneered.

“You really think you can outrun me in here? For every turn you take, I know _four_ that allow us to catch up.”

Lan Wangji swallowed, glancing around.

(Around them, the distinct rumble of Wei Wuxian’s mere walking had ever so slightly increased in volume)

Wen Chao was still crowing.

“-might have killed Da-ge, but it’s not like he was anything special. Now, Father will-”

Lan Wangji whipped his secondary quinque forward and both ghouls ducked the strike.

And Lan Wangji took the moment to throw himself through the nearest window. He soared into the open in a rain of glass, the internal gardens of the Nightless City stretching out beneath him, meticulously arranged rocks formations, ornamental toss and brooks trickling through. He managed to sink his wire into the windowsill just in time to catch himself, swinging back and bracing his feet against the wall. He unclipped the quinque before the two above could grab it, sliding down the rest of the way.

He rolled when he hit the loose stones, moving back to his feet just before two feet slammed straight into where his head had been. He recoiled Wangji back to his belt and held Bichen out. Wen Chao didn’t seem to have come down, still gazing down from the shattered window above. He’d have better aim with the open space, but Lan Wangji held faith that it still wouldn’t make him a threat.

Wen Zhuliu, on the other hand, didn’t have any more corners to hide around.

The artificial ghoul ran at him and he deflected the incoming right hook, using his bare fist to block the left jab, and kicked Wen Zhuliu in the gut. The ghoul skidded back from the impact, bunched and ready for Lan Wangji too close in.

Instead, Bichen came flying right at him. The artificial ghoul snarled, hurling himself to the side, the shining quinque taking nothing more than a line of blood off his neck. And then Lan Wangji tightened his grip on Wangji and the loop he’d tied around Bichen’s hilt went taught and the blade’s direction changed, harshly swinging to the side. Wen Zhuliu leapt back, growling as the blade managed to slice off a hand this time. Lan Wangji didn’t give him a rest, twirling Wangji like a whip, the blade on its end whirling back and forth around the artificial ghoul. He stepped neatly to the side as red _ukaku_ shards tried to catch him unawares, the fledgling version of the halo of fire barely worth note. Wen Chao’s indignant screams were dull white noise, drifting over the two murderous combatants.

When Zhuliu closed in at the moment of the opening and the Investigator vaulted back, whipping his quinque back in the same motion and the artificial ghoul grunted as one of his legs was severed clean off.

Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes to see the fibres already reforming.

(He promptly made up his mind that artificial ghouls were really, really, _really_ annoying.)

He landed in a partial crouch, completing the whip by catching Bichen by the hilt and freeing it from Wangji.

Wen Zhuliu stretched out his new leg.

Lan Wangji twirled his quinque.

The artificial ghoul flexed his _kagune_.

And the Investigator darted over in quick, lightened steps.

Sparks rang as their blades clashed, each twirling, steps moving in match to the other, neither willing to open up a moment’s loophole.

Lan Wangji scowled, suddenly sliced forward and then leapt aside to dodge the volley of shards as Wen Zhuliu dodged back from the strike. He feinted forward and, as the ghoul dodged, he skipped past and sent Wangji flying up. Wen Chao yelped as the quinque coiled around his ankle and yanked him out the window to bring him smashing down into the stone garden, face going straight into one of the man-made brooks.

The ghoul spluttered, _kagune_ spiking all over the place as he pulled his head out of the water, unable to react as Lan Wangji charged at him, Bichen aimed to slice off the lone wing.

Wen Zhuliu virtually threw himself between them and Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes as his sword went clean through the artificial ghoul’s left arm and then halfway through his ribs.

Too low to strike a _kokaku_ -forming _kakuhou_ , unfortunately.

He whipped out his sword, signalling for Wangji to pull him to safety before the artificial ghoul kicked in his already abused ribs.

Wen Zhuliu stumbled, blood pouring out from the gash half-bisecting his chest, both fighters ignoring the shrieks of Wen Chao as he pulled himself up, his pathetic little _kagune_ fully flared up and glistening.

Steadily, the artificial ghoul’s body regenerated, but it was slower, bruises beginning to show where the cell growth was being overexerted. 

Lan Wangji switched his grip on Bichen. If he could just push the other to his limit . . .

Wen Chao dashed around him, at a mockery of his elder brother’s speed, and Lan Wangji didn’t hesitate, pivoting on his feet and sending the blade flying. Wen Chao shrieked, skidding to a halt as the quinque impaled itself upon a tree trunk right before his nose. He took off after it, taking the hilt and easily yanking it out of the tree, twirling it to continue the swing towards Wen Chao.

As he expected, Wen Zhuliu got between them again. He stared as this time his quinque met the arm covered in his _kokaku_ , and simply increased the force. Wen Zhuliu roared as the _kagune_ was severed, the regeneration trickling even more slowly. From over the artificial ghoul’s shoulder, _ukaku_ shards roared after him and he vaulted back, hiding his wince as pain spiked through his ribs, even his not inconsiderable levels of stamina beginning to wear thin.

Wen Chao dashed, probably to safety, and Lan Wangji sprinted after him. He prepared for the intervening strike.

He was thus caught off guard when the artificial ghoul didn’t wait for his _kagune_ to restore itself and instead body slammed him.

Lan Wangji gasped, his shoulder knocked ajar, as the artificial ghoul gripped his coat and shoulders.

He realised a bit too late what Wen Zhuliu’s plan was as teeth ripped through his fabric and flesh.

Fire exploded across his shoulder, and he clenched his jaw as he switched his grip and stabbed Bichen straight into Wen Zhuliu’s head. The ghoul released him immediately, and he kicked the artificial ghoul away, wincing as he gripped his now bleeding shoulder with his spare hand, on guard as the artificial ghoul began climbing back to his feet already, Lan Wangji’s blood on his mouth.

The artificial ghoul let out a single, feral smile as the wound in his head already began closing, _kagune_ instantly reforming.

“Wow. You taste like fucking _steroids._ ”

Lan Wangji stumbled his feet into some semblance of a defensive stance, but he could already feel dread pooling in his gut.

Wen Zhuliu convulsed, as his _kagune_ erupted, RC spiking rapidly.

(Ah shit)

Lan Wangji tried. Really. He took his stance, presented his sword and allowed the blow to carry him rather than try to brute it out.

The punch to his gut, even with Bichen to absorb the blow, send jagged pain through his abdomen and as he slammed clean through on of the garden’s trees, he wasn’t surprised when bitterness flooded his mouth and he spat blood onto the ground.

He struggled to his feet, but he was too slow, _too slow._

Wn Zhuliu was too fast.

Too fast, too strong, too quick to heal, an Investigator should never, _never_ , let a ghoul get to eat in the midst of a hunt.

He managed to catch a blow to his ribs with Bichen, half-winded by the mere impact, and another strike was already slammed into his knee. A claw ripped open his still bleeding shoulder and he stumbled back, forcing down the panic his body desperately wanted to enter, cull the freeze instinct as the pain numbed with his shock.

Wen Zhuliu just advanced again, relentless.

Hip, back, shoulder, head, hip, ribs, elbow, throat solar plexus, hip, knee, ankle, ankle, back, hip,

_Head._

Lan Wangji’s instinctual dodging ran out as a palm slammed into his skull and he went flying, feet fully off the ground, the world spinning and blurring. He was reflexively hurling his last meal up before he even figured out which way was up.

Pain on his fingers had him glancing oh that way was up. 

Wen Zhuliu just forced his heel lower and Lan Wangji clenched his jaw firmly shut as his finger bones cracked. The artificial ghoul nonchalantly kicked Bichen out his grasp, _kokaku_ enlarging into more jagged spikes.

“Only alive right?” His voice had returned to its obedient monotone, “Legs can be served separately?”

“Go ahead!” Wen Chao crowed and honestly the worst part about this was how smug he was considering he’d done _none_ of the fighting.

Wen Zhuliu pulled back his _kagune_.

Lan Wangji kept his gaze resolutely fixed on his cracking fingers.

And then Wen Zhuliu let out a gasp of surprise and pain. Lan Wangji blinked, body going even tenser as Wen Chao squealed in outrage.

A Wen ghoul pulled its hands out from Wen Zhuliu’s back and a whole pack quickly closed ranks around it, turning to face both Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu.

Lan Wangji flickered his gaze between them all.

A mutiny?

An attempt at mercy?

Years of abuse finally getting paid back given opportunity?

One of the ghouls shifted and Lan Wangji got a proper look at its eyes. It’s clammy, unseeing, jelly like eyes.

And he understood.

(These ghouls were dead)

One opened its mouth and a black writhing tendril slithered out, tip covered in blood. It was joined by others pushing out through its nose, eyes and ears.

Unseen in the darkness, the thin black threads had shoved through their feet, their backs, their necks, twisting and manipulating. Under an unseen cue, the ghouls all stumbled forward like the puppets of a drunkard. Wen Zhuliu yanked Wen Chao behind him, clawing through the fragile _rinkaku_ tendrils, all three of them completely distracted before the giggling sounded from above.

(Wei Ying had caught up)

Wen Chao screamed in fright, clawing at his bodyguard, whilst Lan Wangji took in a sharp breath.

The Yiling Patriarch was lounging atop the ceiling of the indoor garden, tendril upon tendril all writhing down and around him, securing him in place like an ink stain coating the whole ceiling. Slowly, he drooped lower, rotating upside down and chuckling.

“Hello everyone.”

Before they could even attempt to flee, he completely dropped, his immense _rinkaku_ slipping along behind him as he slammed into the ground and immediately spread his shadowy limbs out around him.

Wen Zhuliu hurled Wen Chao as far away as he could manage, right before he was subsumed by the advancing _rinkaku._ Amber flashed, over and over as he tried to free himself, and Lan Wangji backed up immediately. He could only watch as the artificial ghoul was ripped apart, piece by meticulous piece, about forty odd tendrils all coiling and pulling.

(Wen Zhuliu had been human once)

He glanced away and then blinked.

He uncoiled Wangji in a fluid movement and snapped it around one of Wen Chao’s fleeing ankles. The ghoul yelped as he was yanked off balance, struggling to straighten out his _kagune_ to strike back.

He didn’t get the chance.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you~” the Yiling Patriarch almost floated over to him, _rinkaku_ supporting him easily, completely ignoring the screams of the artificial ghoul behind him. A few snatched up the Wen’s Second Young Master, dragging him with the reach of Wei Wuxian’s hands.

The Yiling Patriarch ran a hand over Wen Chao’s sweat covered cheek, “I’m quick.”

A flicker of black and Wen Chao convulsed as his _kakuhou_ was punctured clean through, before being yanked out and thrown against a wall.

The scream cut off as the Yiling Patriarch tipped up his mask and bit out his vocal chords. His _kagune_ pulsed, energising far, _far_ too quickly, as the sounds of eating reached Lan Wangji.

Slowly, he pulled himself up, rising to standing height and recoiling both his quinque.

The movement spiked the pain in his shoulder, and he bit back the hiss, gripping the still bleeding bite.

(The Yiling Patriarch paused over the carcass, head tilting ever so lightly.)

Lan Wangji had barely stretched out his back before the One-Eyed Ghoul was on him.

He gasped, back slamming into the ground as the Yiling Patriarch pinned him, iron grips on his shoulders, keeping his arms locked back as the One-Eyed Ghoul perched on top of him. Drips of drool were mixing with blood as the masked face arrived mere centimetres from his own.

It paused.

The Yiling Patriarch released a thick growl, whole chest rumbling, as his fists tightened. Lan Wangji winced as those nails dug in, but otherwise tried to remain as still as he could achieve.

“. . . Wei Ying?” He spoke softly, after the standoff stretched into a minute, crooning like he might with one of his spooked rabbits.

There was no verbal response, but the One-Eyed Ghoul shuddered, dropping down even closer, their chest pressing against each other through the fabric.

He went no further and slowly, cautiously, as the grips on his arms loosened, Lan Wangji reached up and undid the strings holding the mask to the One-Eyed Ghoul’s face.

Wei Wuxian’s eyes were wide and feral, tension veins entombing his _kakugan_ , a few even spiralling out from his silver eye. Blood, Wen Chao’s blood, coated his mouth to his chin, and his breath reeked of the dead.

Tears were beginning to pool in both eyes, every muscle clenched tight as he fought against his own mind.

Upset by the sight, Lan Wangji reached up and lightly brushed them away.

Wei Wuxian’s breathing grew heavier, his shoulders heaving afresh, every inhalation and exhalation thundering into Lan Wangji’s ears. 

Wei Wuxian snarled and lowered his head.

The head passed his ear and rested its forehead on Lan Wangji’s shoulder.

Slowly, every so carefully, Lan Wangji reached out and rested his palm in between Wei Wuxian’s shoulder blades. The groan reverberated through them.

“Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan. You’re going to give me a Pavlonian reaction to sandalwood with the rate we’re at.”

He let out a soft huff, reaching up and lightly flicking off that cowl, trailing fingers through curly, untameable hair. He could sit up for a minute though before the body atop his collapsed and he was promptly flattened, cushioning Wei Wuxian’s crumpled form.

“Wei Ying?!”

“‘m fine . . . “ the One-Eyed Ghoul mumbled, dragging his cheek over Lan Wangji’s shoulder, “Just . . . a bit nauseous.”

“Why?”

Wei Wuxian released a gargled laugh. “You try receiving sensory input from a whole mountain of limbs and not ending up overwhelmeduurggh . . .”

He sat up and over and Lan Wangji rubbed a circle into his back as he puked up bile and blood and guts, a cannibal’s dinner splashing across the ruined stone garden.

Wei Wuxian stared at it speculatively.

“Well, I probably didn’t want him in my digestive tracts any way.”

Lan Wangji just huffed, unable to hold back his fondness at Wei Wuxian still managing to joke. The One-Eyed Ghoul in question turned to him, red warm across his whole face, as he reached up and took Lan Wangji’s cheeks into his hand.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, “if I hurt you.”

“Wei Ying never did.”

Wei Wuxian’s lower lip trembled slightly as he forced up a smile, “Heh, s-so then what did you think? About witnessing the Dreaded Yiling Patriarch on a hunt?”

Lan Wangji brushed back some of his hair, “Embarrassing.”

Wei Wuxian stilled, and his eyebrows twitched higher, incredulous, “Huh?”

“Wei Ying has hunted before, yet the CCG managed to miss him entirely,” he clarified, “it is embarrassing.”

His partner beamed, properly this time, “Ah, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, isn’t that for the best? What would’ve happened if you’d already known about me _before_ I became your adorable pest?”

“It would have been wonderful,” he spoke truthfully, “I would have known Wei Ying sooner.”

Wei Wuxian just remained silent, mouth wide and open with a level of naked happiness unmatched by all. Slowly, he tipped forward, face thudding into Lan Wangji’s chest, as they both sat on the grounds, amidst the remains of their battle.

“Lan Zhan.” Wei Wuxian’s voice was muffled and wobbly, “I’m truly happy to have met you.”

“Mm.”Wei Wuxian giggled, stretching back and squashing Lan Wangji’s cheeks with a bright smile.

“Well come on then - this night isn’t over yet.”

“Mm.”

Wei Wuxian replaced his mask and cowl, and Lan Wangji retrieved Bichen from the wall.

Hand-in-hand, they began the walk back. 

On the night of the Sunshot Campaign, the Yunmeng Jiang, the CCG and the Lanling Jin simultaneously stormed the Nightless City at 8pm.

By 9pm, they had claimed the front entrance.

By 11pm, they had regrouped forces and marched on the East Wing.

At 12.30am, the Yiling Patriarch crashed his way in.

And at 2am, the doors of Wen Ruohan’s bunker clattered down the stairs and an awful hush fell over the conflict, every individual tense and waiting.

Lam Xichen walked out first.

Nie Mingjue followed next, dragging Wen Ruohan's severed head.

And bringing up the read, a still bleeding _kakuhou_ skewered on a needle-like quinque, was Meng Yao.

(Not one single weapon moved)

Nie Mingjue tossed the head down, and cheers drowned out the sound before it had even reached the bottom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it’s not next week, but technically it IS Wednesday.
> 
> If anyone remembers me complaining about writing action beforehand, then this is the chapter that kind of took a sledgehammer and was like ‘don’t you hate writing action YOU FOOL’  
> I do.  
> I am a fool.   
> Also upon starting the edit I realised I had written the Prince Crowned in Gold as the Prince Crowned in Ghoul for half of this and had to change them ALL HAHA
> 
> JFM: So what will I be doing?  
> YZY: you’ll distract JGS  
> JFM, disappointed: oh . . . 
> 
> If any of y’all have seen the opening scene of Coraline, then Wen Qing’s kagune is That but MORE FINGERS
> 
> Who’s ready for MORE MADE UP SCIENCE?  
> My premise is that every kagune is basically an exposed muscle – pure RC cells and nerves. However, to get the amount of control over it that they do, ghouls must essentially have the same density of nerves in kagune that humans have in their tongues. That’s a lot of touch feedback from a muscle the size of, and often bigger than, a regular limb. Add on rinkaku ghouls having multiple, and you can imagine it becomes pretty overloading to the brain. Hence Wei Wuxian, fully unleashed, is kind of literally scatter brained. He’s getting too much physical feedback to cognitively interpret and respond to in any meaningful fashion.  
> Hence a little bit of berserker rage is manifested!
> 
> And actually, you know what? I really did fucking hate writing this chapter. If I had just been doing this on my own, this would have been the moment I hard dropped for another WIP.  
> So, I want to truly, honestly thank everyone who has shown so much support and interest in this fic. Knowing that people wanted this when I didn’t? Helped. So fucking much.  
> Thank you to everyone for reading this chapter. Thank you so much.


	9. and I can't move, can't move, i cannot move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALL RIGHT HOLD UP HONEYS!!  
> BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER!!  
> This wonderful fantabulously talented person created a beautiful Lotus Bride!!  
> (https://weiwxn.tumblr.com/post/190701093068/ive-been-thinking-about-chatonnerie-s-ghouljyl)  
> Please go shower them with love and support!!!
> 
> ALSO  
> Please observe that the TAGs and RATINGs have been UPDATED!!  
> If you have NO INTEREST, it begins the paragraph after the following sentence:
> 
> [And if Wei Wuxian had driven over the speed limit in his urgency to reach Yiling, well, Lan Wangji felt no need to comment.]
> 
> And then please just skip straight through to the paragraph after!
> 
> Thank you for being so patient and I hope you enjoy!!

“Bastard didn’t even bring out his _kagune_!!”

There was a chorus of grumbles and disparaging cheers. Nie Mingjue led the crowd, already slamming down his fourth pint of beer, as he got to his feet and began to retell the story for the seventh time that evening.

Lan Wangji rested against a far wall, observing the chaos with the intensity one has when they are weighing up the pros and cons of leaving early. The bar which the upper hierarchy of the CCG had booked to celebrate was cram packed full of Investigators, distinctive white coats discarded for dress shirts getting increasingly stained with beer and wine.

It wasn’t a bad story that the Director was telling, after all, Lan Wangji _was_ very interested to learn about how his Brother, his boss and their spy/friend/whatever role Meng Yao was currently filling in their lives had managed to take down the most fearsome of ghouls. He just might be more interested to hear it from his deeply logical brother, or at least from the Director when he wasn’t slurring every second character.

“Lan Wangji. I believe a more proper introduction is in order?” 

He blinked and turned to find Meng Yao arriving at his side through the crowd.

He bowed, and quickly internally corrected himself.

“Inspector Meng.”

“Please,” the man smiled, traces of humility and good nature within his expression, “I still have two years of training to complete at an Academy before I’m deserving of such a title.”

Lan Wangji let out a faint hmph. Considering his suddenly exemplary record, he doubted Meng Yao would even have to complete the accelerated single year of training.

Not seeing the point in lingering, however, he turned to properly face the man, “I did not know you possessed a quinque.”

“Ah . . . that wasn’t mine,” Meng Yao’s face turned suitably respectful, “Wen Ruohan liked collecting them from dead Investigators. I was able to steal one when Investigator Lan was distracting him.”

(A backstab, it had been.

Wen Ruohan had been so dismissive of the two Investigators before him, he hadn’t seen the strike coming from his blind spot.

Had he utilised his _kagune_ , he probably could have dodged - but he hadn’t felt the need to bring it out)

“Will you keep it?”

“All stolen quinque have been returned to the CCG’s corresponding department for maintenance,” Meng Yao instead responded.

(So, probably yes)

“A-Yao? Ah, Wangji.”

They both turned to greet Lan Xichen, whose journey was notably more hindered by random Investigators grabbing him for a few words every step. Meng Yao visibly brightened, bowing.

“Investigator Lan-”

“A-Yao,” Lan Xichen smiled as he interrupted and Lan Wangji sort of felt like an outsider listening to his own brother, “How many times have I told you that it is unnecessary to call me such?”

“Er-ge is too kind,” Meng Yao smiled back and Lan Wangji wondered if glancing at the time on his phone was too obvious.

Fortunately, Lan Xichen soon turned his way.

“And are you doing all right, Wangji?”

“Loud.”

“Yes, it is getting a bit rambunctious,” all three were forced to step back as a waiter passed by with drinks, struggling not to get jumped by about thirty combat trained adults, “do you need to step out, or will you be fine for a bit longer?”

Before he could answer, a roar came from Nie Mingjue’s vague direction and all three tried to peer through the flickering heads.

“I’ll go check one that,” Meng Yao decided quietly, slipping back through the bodies. Lan Wangji turned.

“Er-ge?”

“Yes.” Lan Xichen’s expression was serene, “He saved my life. And Da-ge’s. And we saved his. We have already spoken with Uncle about taking an oath of brotherhood upon A-Yao’s graduation.”

“I see.”

He didn’t need to look to know his Brother was brimming with amusement.

“You’re more than welcome to call me ‘ge’ too.”

“No.”

“Aww~”

He batted away the hand pinching his cheek, turning to scowl at his unrepentant Brother.

“Meng Yao is not built to be an Investigator.”

“I know,” with the words, Lan Xichen shifted back slightly, concern growing, “I believe that he’s been contemplating whether or not to participate in this new quinx project.”

Lan Wangji blinked, turning to him with an open mouth, but then Meng Yao was returning, looking slightly harried.

“Er-ge, he’s had a bit too much . . .”

“Yes, I’ll come,” Lan Xichen squeezed his brother’s shoulder, before heading back off into the crowds. 

The loss left Lan Wangji stiff, the alcohol a bit too strong and the sounds a bit too loud, and he finally drew a line and managed to force his way to the front door and out into the open air.

He sighed as he stepped outside.

The cold air immediately bit into his face and he tilted his head up to catch the wind against his sweaty neck. It was a welcome reprieve from the fumes within and he spent a few moments just reclining in the cool, checking his phone. Aside from the odd pictures from Wei Wuxian and A-Yuan, the remaining Wens featuring on occasion, there was nothing really interesting. Neither of them had particularly had the time to catch up properly since Lan Wangji has the Aftermath to deal with, and Wei Wuxian had, to quote, ‘twenty fucking hours of lectures to catch up on _before_ next week, Lan Zhan! NEXT! WEEK!’

The thought had him almost smiling.

“Lan Er-Gonzi?” 

He blinked and glanced to the side.

Jiang Yanli smiled at him, bundled up in a deep purple jumper, ivory scarf trailing artfully atop.

He bowed politely, and hoped his curiosity was visible.

By her slightly widening smile, it was, “It’s a pleasure to run into you again.”

“It is not hard to find the location of this celebration,” he felt the need to point out, and she didn’t so much as bat an eyelid.

“No, not really. But I _was_ only guessing that you would step outside for a moment.” She covered her mouth with a gloved hand and returned the bow, “Forgive my assumption.”

“Not at all,” he gave her a slight once over, but nothing was particularly sticking out to him, “Lotus Pier is all right?”

Her expression growing a tad more serious, “Yes, we were fine. Fortunately, the Wen contingent went in thinking we wanted to avoid a fight. Catching them off guard worked well in our favour.”

“That is good,” he paused for a moment, “is there something _you_ wish to ask of me?”

“Quite so,” she smiled, a bit gratefully, “I just wanted to clarify some things, if that’s all right with you?”

He frowned a nodded.

She beamed, a bit brighter, hands moving together, “Wonderful! In that case, are you indeed interested in a courtship with my A-Xian?”

(He choked)

She didn’t seem to mind his mortified silence, marching on.

“I don’t blame you - A-Xian is kind and brave and good. And I’ve always known there were never any boys more handsome than my little brothers. Any one he chooses to date should consider themselves deeply fortunate.”

It was now that she frowned, “So, I’m wondering why, considering you have such a golden opportunity, you have not taken it up? Do you find A-Xian to be _lacking_ -?”

“No!”

In hindsight, both the interruption and the speed of it were both awfully revealing, and his ears turned to fire as the Lotus Bride paused and promptly let out a bell-like round of laughter. 

“Ahaha! Lan Er-Gonzi, how quickly you leap to his defence! It makes me glad to hear it.”

Lan Wangji wanted to bury himself.

She quietened down, “He wants to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Nothing in particular,” she shrugged lightly, “He enjoys it. He enjoys being around you. I would hope that, if you enjoy being around him, you might want to clear out all this obtrusive uncertainty with a talk.”

He swallowed, “I have no desire to force my feelings-”

“I’m sure you don’t,” she cut through neatly, “but please don’t assume my brother’s feelings, Lan Er-Gonzi. If one of you would stop being a chickenshit long enough to confess, then you’d spare many people the suffering of listening to his pining.”

At this point, he was just straight up gaping at him and it was rude and she was Wei Wuxian’s sister, but had she really just said that?

Her expression softened and she gave his arm a reassuring pat. “A-Xian cares so much about you, Lan Er-Gonzi. I’m not throwing you into the deep end here.”

“Wangji?”

He spun around to find Lan Xichen emerging from the bar, Nie Mingjue’s arm slung over his shoulders.

When he glanced back, he was only slightly surprised to find the space the Lotus Bride had been previously standing at completely empty.

“Could you help me, please?”

He shook himself and instead watched his brother doing his damnedest to sweet talk Nie Mingjue into cooperating as he manhandled the larger man out of the door.

He hastened over, taking the Director’s other arm and supporting the larger’s man’s other side.

“Nie Huaisang?”

“Left a while ago.” Lan Xichen sighed, “Maybe I should have intervened at the seventh beer . . .”

“He had fun. I don’t mind helping”

Lan Xichen sent him a warm smile, “Let’s get him home - he’s slept on the couch before.”

(He had?)

Together they managed to navigate their drunk Director into the quickest ordered didi, all three formidably figured people crammed into the back seats.

Lan Wangji stared at his hands.

“Brother?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think I am,” he hesitated on the exact words of the Lotus Bride, quickly switching it, “lacking in action?”

Lan Xichen tilted his head, “What do you mean?”

Lan Wangji just stared moodily ahead at the back of the driver’s seat.

“Is it about Young Master Wei?”

He rolled his head to stare at his Brother.

Lan Xichen’s smile tweaked, “I believe that your heart has always been your own - it is up to you to determine what you feel. If your hesitation is because of Young Master Wei’s feelings, then . . . maybe before I’m thirty would be nice?”

He turned properly to glare, and Lan Xichen curled his mouth in to avoid laughing.

Lan Wangji glanced back out the window, a little bit miffed.

“I don’t even know what you consider Meng Yao.”

“I’m not really sure either,” Lan Xichen sat back in the seat, a bit thoughtful, “now that we have the time, I would like to find out. Now is the best time to do such things after all . . .”

Lan Wangji ignored the lead, “Was it truly Wen Ruohan who sent the incorrect map?”

His Brother’s expression grew slightly exasperated, but he nevertheless sat back, considering it through, “. . . A-Yao has had a great many . . . _odds_ stacked against him in life – he is not obliged to act with the code of the CCG in his mind. On this matter, I am more willing to believe that the events transpired as he stated, and leave it at that.”

“Stupid little . . . cursed munchkin . . .” Nie Mingjue mumbled into Lan Xichen’s shoulder, and he gave his partner’s head an absent pat.

The two Jades exchanged a look, before Lan Wangji looked away, lips pinned together as Lan Xichen let his head tip back, shoulders trembling with laughter.

(In his defence, he truly had meant to go through Yiling, but the last few weeks of uni just seemed to slip by. He naturally saw Wei Wuxian in their shared lectures and tutorial, and no one batted an eyelid anymore when they gravitated towards each other, but no one was batting their eyelids at much else other than the exam content by this stage. What’s more, his work, both academic and professional, was only increasing the longer the semester drew on. Wei Wuxian had his own territorial matters to deal with, and aside from a vague mumble or so that things were fine, they’d barely sat at their table in the few weeks.

He’d been _busy_.)

But with Jiang Yanli’s words still fresh in his mind, his excuses officially ran out when the semester ended and all set moments with Wei Wuxian were replaced by hours of study for exams. Steeling himself, he set off for Yiling on the evening of the first day of the study break.

He decided to play dirty.

Wei Wuxian _had_ told him that his eating habits worsened during exams.

So even if bringing food all the way there made him feel like a fool, it also gave him an excuse in case he was called out for his forwardness.

He climbed to the third level of the apartment and opened up the door with his hip.

Upon which, he slowly resigned himself to always finding Wei Wuxian’s apartment occupied by someone who he had not received prior warning about.

Fortunately, for the first time in what felt like forever, he didn’t immediately want Bichen.

About six science students, Wei Wuxian among them, were gathered around Wei Wuxian’s dining table, a forest’s worth of paper between them, all expressions somewhere on a scale ranging from grim determination to beseeching the gods. Luckily, Wei Wuxian’s head popped out from the mess at the sound of his opened door and he immediately beamed, whole body livening up.

“Hey, Lan Zhan!”

Five other heads popped up as well and he saw at least three people immediately grin.

Slowly, he held up the tupperware container.

“I brought you dinner.”

“He did, huh?” one of the girls drawled, turning her grin to face Wei Wuxian instead, and he elbowed her, skidding his chair back and bouncing over to his entrance.

“I can come back,” Lan Wangji offered but Wei Wuxian quickly shook his head.

“No, no! We’ve been here all day - I was planning on kicking them out soon enough anyway.”

“Thanks.” Someone grunted out from the paper stacks and he huffed their way.

“Hey, guys,” another mumbled, “What’d you get for 15?”

“29.8.”

“32.7.”

“Gertrude B. Elion,” they all looked up and the responsible voice shrugged, “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I’ll be right back,” Wei Wuxian promised him, hustling him safely behind the kitchen island, before hurrying back, “relax guys, I have the answer.”

“I have it too,” the quietest voice of them all murmured out from behind several practice exam papers, “coffee?”

“Double-shot espresso, please~”

“Flat white.”

“I’ll have an espresso too.”

“Can I get a decaf? My hands are shaking . . .”

“I’ll have a Shakerato.”

The man standing up sent the last order a long look.

“. . . So I’ll just make you a regular iced coffee.”

He headed over to Lan Wangji’s position in the kitchen upon receiving a thumbs up, and Lan Wangji moved to give him space.

“Wen Ning.” He greeted, as even toned as he could make it. The ghoul inspected him for a moment, before his gaze flit away to the three coffee machines.

“Lan Er-Gonzi,” he returned the greeting placidly, “um, w-would you mind if I-?”

Wordlessly, he reached back and helped the ghoul retrieve the coffee machines. He ignored the stammered thanks, merely retreating back and watching as Wei Wuxian explained the answer, arms waving and whole body animated, the others all listening in as they drained their coffees immediate upon receiving them.

“You r-really do like him, don’t you?”

Lan Wangji blinked up at Wen Ning.

(There was already a file being built, and of the previously unknown ghouls who had appeared for what was coming to be known as the Sunshot campaign, the ‘Ghost General’ was one of the few who’d been unquestionably handed an SS-rank.)

Right now, the ghoul had a soft little smile on his face, so similar yet so much more delicate than his sister’s and Lan Wangji found his stomach twisting.

His reply was interrupted. A woman got to her feet, hurled a pen at the table, flipped onto the nearest couch and began screaming into the first pillow she could grab.

Lan Wangji just frowned. “Is she . . . okay?”

“Oh yeah, it happens to everyone at some point.” Wen Ning idly added a third shot into his cup and began drinking. One of the other girls looked up.

“Shi-jie . . . err, are you in a ‘she’ or ‘he’ mood right now? I mean, I’m guessing ‘she’ but-”

“I’m in a _fuck Advanced Biochem_ mood right now!!” Came the muffled shriek from the couch. Wei Wuxian nodded.

“I mean, same.”

Several people laughed, a couple gave the screaming student shoulder pats, and Wei Wuxian exchanged his position with Wen Ning. The younger ghoul brought another drink over to Shi Qingxuan as Wei Wuxian glued himself up against Lan Wangji’s side, frightfully unaware of how much it made Lan Wangji’s heart dance.

“God, I love science.”

“Is this normal?” he asked sceptically, handing over a packet of spicy potato chips, much to Wei Wuxian’s delight.

“Oh, yeah, Shi Qingxuan’s got the first exam and she’s freaking out.”

“It seems . . . unhealthy.”

“You don’t know the worst of it,” the other girl rolled her eyes, “One of my housemates is a _med_ student and, like, Mu Qingfang’ll be writing a full report on the benefits of sleep by pulling three all-nighters.”

“Jiejie once said that sleep was a sign of weakness.” Wen Ning sighed, “I laughed, and she didn’t.”

(“SOMEONE GRAB MY PHONE!” Shi Qingxuan was meanwhile screaming into the pillow, “I NEED TO TELL BROTHER I’M CHANGING MY DEGREE!! AND MY SECOND PHONE, I NEED TO RANT TO MING-XIONG!! AND GET A MIXOLOGIST ON THE THIRD, I WANT A MARTINI!!”

Later that evening, after all the others had cleared out with various sighs and tears and final triple shot espressos, the pair found themselves meandering around the small apartment, Lan Wangji in the kitchen and Wei Wuxian curled up on the couch, flicking between movies.

“Hey Lan Zhan?”

“Mm?”

“What’s the situation like at the CCG? Will it be settling down before exams?”

“Unlikely,” he joined his partner, patiently holding up an arm so Wei Wuxian could snuggle up against his side. “Shredded pork?”

“Thank you~” Wei Wuxian hit the play on a B-roll monster movie, before flinging his remote off to vanish into some couch cushions and taking the vibrantly red bowl with glee.

The movie began with some truly terrible cinematography and the two mostly focused on eating to fill in time before the overly fake monster began eating people.

Wei Wuxian let out a little hum just as red splashed across the camera, the sound vibrating between their chests.

(It was their first moment alone, and their first opportunity to openly talk about That Night.)

“So how have you been? Are you doing okay?”

“Mm.”

“Ah, I see, I see. Then how are your ribs? I don’t think going into a dangerous fight with broken ones is standard practice.”

“Our family has good doctors.”

“I’m not questioning that, of course, I know how good they are, but are you sure you don’t want me ringing up Wen Qing, just quickly? It would be no fuss-”

“Wei Ying.” He huffed and the One-Eyed Ghoul giggled.

“. . . But at the end there, Elder Brother Lan _did_ say something about a concussion-?”

Lan Wangji reached around and pressed his hand over Wei Wuxian’s mouth.

“Watch the movie,” he spoke, quite calmly, over Wei Wuxian’s indignant and muffled cries.

The sulky pout vanished as Lan Wangji removed his hand and offered some more food with the other.

He watched his partner chow down happily for a moment, before he reached out to pull some of Wei Wuxian’s fly-away hairs safely back from his food.

“. . . Brother is planning to make a blood oath with the Director and Meng Yao.”

“Meng Yao?” Wei Wuxian tapped his chopsticks against his lower lip, before brightening, “the other guy who beat Wen Ruohan?”

“Mm.”

“You cool with it?”

He shrugged. It wasn’t really his business.

“So, he’s really joining the CCG . . .” Wei Wuxian picked at a stray vegetable, “That Lianfang-zun is weird.”

Lan Wangji frowned, “You have already labelled him with ‘hidden’?”

“Duh, he’s a half-ghoul.” Wei Wuxian rolled his head up to meet Lan Wangji’s startled gaze, tapping his nose, “You guys can’t smell it, but we can. From that look, I’m guessing he hasn’t told you.”

Lan Wangji shook his head and Wei Wuxian dropped his own, back against Lan Wangji’s chest, ears as close to his heart as they could manage, “Didn’t think so.”

“Brother might know,” and actually, now that he thought about it . . . , “Director Nie may know too.”

“Wen Ruohan would have definitely known.” Wei Wuxian huffed, “Ah well, he’ll probably do fine. If they know, then he’ll just be an extremely able Investigator, not a scandal waiting to happen.”

“I don’t think he was entirely on our side,” Lan Wangji finally admitted, quiet and embarrassed. Wei Wuxian immediately squeezed his hand.

“Don’t worry, I don’t so either. I think he was all for siding with the winner.”

Lan Wangji hummed, unsatisfied.

Wei Wuxian played with his hair.

“Hey, Lan Zhan?”

“Mm?”

“There’s something I’m still annoyed about too, don’t worry.”

“What?”

“I never figured out who hired the assassin,” Wei Wuxian grumbled, moodily. Lan Wangji blinked, and turned to face him directly. The One-Eyed Ghoul huffed.

“I mean, sure, maybe it was just the Wen Clan, but the only reason they’d send someone after us is because they knew who were outside of work - and then why would they send some nobody to do the job?”

“The intention was not to succeed,” Lan Wangji agreed slowly, “it was to get out attention on the Wen’s activity.”

Wei Wuxian huffed. “Someone set us up to go after the Wen - I’m just sorry I can’t thank them.”

Lan Wangji let out a vaguely agreeing hum, before getting up with their empty plates. Wei Wuxian immediately sat up whining.

“Ah, no, Lan Zhan! Don’t leave this one to freeze!”

“There is a blanket.” 

“You’re no fun,” Wei Wuxian pouted, nevertheless reaching out for the thick rug. As Lan Wangji cleaned up their dinner plates, he fondly watched Wei Wuxian tucking it meticulously around himself, ensuring not even a toe was exposed.

He came back and joined Wei Wuxian under the blanket, holding out a can of Wei Wuxian’s preferred wine.

“No more talk of work now.” He spoke simply, “Be grateful for how it turned out.”

“Ah, Lan Zhan takes such good care of this one~” Wei Wuxian crowed, cracking it open with glee as he threw the ends of the rug around his partner and snuggled back up alongside him. “This XianXian accepts the bribe with no hesitation! Nothing but gratitude from now on!”

Lan Wangji huffed, settling back into the cushions as the movie entered its final lap, taking the can from Wei Wuxian’s fingers once it was finished. Before he could stand up and tidy it away, he felt the weight against his deepen, and he glanced down to find Wei Wuxian’s eyes closed, his breathing deep and even. Lan Wangji checked his phone.

(Well, it _was_ past 9 anyway, so who could blame him if he were to just . . .)

He set the can down as far as he could reach, before arranging the rug properly around Wei Wuxian and settling back against the cushions, allowing the warmth to carry him under for the night.

The following day brought its own tests.

“Do you really mean that Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian laughed happily, a pleased flush to his face, “Say it again! Say it again! I wanna hear it again!”

“Spoilt.”

“And whose fault is that?”

In the opened up music tutorial rooms, everyone was struggling not to watch the pair, as Wei Wuxian eagerly draped himself across Lan Wangji’s laps, silver eyes shining and _dizi_ twirling in his hands. Lan Wangji barely glanced at him, instead adjusting one of the scribbles on their paper to the more correct note.

Wei Wuxian blew one of his hanging bangs askew. 

Lan Wangji huffed, reaching and stroking aside a lock of that messy hair, today styled up into a whole nest of bunches, “My fault.”

“Yep!” Wei Wuxian beamed, pressing closer and Lan Wangji grit his teeth as he _felt_ it in places that would make the conversation Very Awkward. “But say it again! I demand you too!!”

He huffed, and ever so lightly lowered his voice, “Yiling Patriarch. SSS-ranked.”

“Triple S,” Wei Wuxian breathed, eyes shining, before he burst into laughter, “Haha, did you know Lan Zhan? In all those ‘danger scales’ the CCG puts out, they compare Triple-S ranked ghouls to being natural disasters win terms of damage.”

“Mm.”

“Would you agree, Lan Zhan?” at this Wei Wuxian sat up, leaning in close with his lips twirled up coquettishly, no clue to the things that _did_ to Lan Wangji’s self control, “Your XianXian is a walking natural disaster~”

“A walking disaster,” he agreed, and Wei Wuxian immediately squawked, sliding off in sulky protest. 

Lan Wangji swallowed, allowing the sharp separation to steady himself. His closeness with Wei Wuxian was selfish and he shouldn’t indulge it-

(“Please don’t assume my brother’s feelings, Lan Er-Gonzi.”)

He reached out and snagged Wei Wuxian’s sleeve, “We should practice once more.” 

“If you say so,” Wei Wuxian twirled his old flute, “I think we’ve got it pretty sorted at this point though Lan Zhan.”

“One can never put in too much practice.”

“I suppose not,” Wei Wuxian pressed up against his side, “Hey, have you thought of a name for it?”

(. . . It’s name?)

He tried to resist blushing.

(He had thought of a name. In the quiet hours of the night, fingers poised over the strings, he’d tossed the name back and forth within his mind)

“. . . Tea.”

“Huh?”

“I would like tea.”

Wei Wuxian blinked at him, before brightening, “Yeah, I could use a coffee too - wait here, I’ll go get us some.”

He reached for his wallet, but Wei Wuxian was already moving, slightly too quickly.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry - I’ll treat you for once!”

Lan Wangji watched the door clatter behind him for a moment, struggling to suppress the sigh already forming.

“Hey, Lan Er-Gonzi?”

He glanced back to find another one of his classmates watching him curiously, “So what’s he like in bed?”

Lan Wangji blinked.

Blinked once more.

(. . . in bed?)

His ears turned to fire, his heart jumped about four paces and the scowl that burst onto his face had about five people recoiling, “Ridiculous!!”

“Oh yeah, totally.” Someone else rolled their eyes, “You both vanish for a week and a half and then come back more handsy than ever before! Nothing sus about that!”

He turned his glare and the guilty person swallowed, and quickly glanced away.

Internally, Lan Wangji was panicking. They were right, it _was_ suspicious. What was he meant to do? What if Wei Wuxian, brilliant but dense Wei Wuxian, thought he was confessing for the sake of his reputation? Not his feelings? If he bared his everything, he didn’t think he would be able to _stand_ Wei Wuxian considering it insincere-

“Who tops?” Another person piped up and that derailed his entire train of thought.

He was spared from answering as the door swung open and Wei Wuxian came dancing back in, bearing a cardboard tray with coffee and tea.

The others all immediately looked away, and Lan Wangji cleared some space at their table between the almost finished piece and his _guqin_.

“Do you dislike tea?” he asked, suppressing the urge to clear his throat and fan his suddenly flushed neck, desperate, _desperate_ , for something to clear his mind.

Wei Wuxian shrugged, handing Lan Wangji his own, “Never got into drinking it - unless I spike it, I don’t see the appeal.”

“The act of brewing is calming.”

“Maybe,” Wei Wuxian grinned and prodded Lan Wangji’s cheek with the end of his flute, “but we can’t all be as chill as fuck as you.”

“I don’t know, Wei-xiong, you seem like you could benefit from ditching the caffeine.” Someone commented.

Wei Wuxian pulled a face, “What’s even the point of decaf coffee? Just get something else?”

“At the rate, you’re going, it’s a wonder Lan Wangji hasn’t already gotten tired of you.”

“Lan Zhan _loves_ me,” Wei Wuxian snapped back, utterly flippant and Lan Wangji wanted to scream.

Surely . . .?

(“Please don’t assume my brother’s feelings, Lan Er-Gonzi.”)

“Wei Ying,” he spoke softly, and the One-Eyed Ghoul immediately switched his attention back down, “I have a name for the song already.”

Wei Wuxian blinked, shifting to face him properly, “Oh yeah? Then what is it? Tell me, tell me, tell me-”

“I will tell you,” he promised, “at the performance. When we play it in full.”

Wei Wuxian tilted his head, before idly letting it drop onto Lan Wangji’s shoulder.

“All right, then,” he smiled, “I’ll wait.”

“The Magical Melody of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji?”

“Nn.”

“The Ballad of the Third Level Table?”

“No.”

“Yiling Laozu and Hanguang-jun’s Legacy?”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji glanced up from his place at the kitchen bench, “You said you would wait.”

Wei Wuxian grinned up at him from his table, “Yeah, for you to tell me. We agreed on nothing about whether or not I could just guess it. So? Am I getting warmer?”

Lan Wangji exhaled.

“You are currently in the Arctic Sea.”

Wei Wuxian pouted.

“Xian-gege, why are you in the sea?”

They both turned to the young ghoul currently drawing out some of the Christmas lights ( _already_ being put up, the lack of shame companies had about the upcoming Winter was outrageous) in crayon. Wei Wuxian snorted, and shifted his chair closer.

“It’s an expression, baby, your Lan-gege’s just being mean to me.”

A-Yuan shot him a very doubtful expression over that comment, but seemingly forgot all about it as Lan Wangji set out a bowl of rice and curry in front of Wei Wuxian.

The Wens still living in Yiling had been dealing with the economic fallout of every major inheritor to the Sun Corporation considerable fortune suddenly being, well, dead, and A-Yuan’s presence in Wei Wuxian’s apartment had quite rapidly shifted from ‘temporary’ to ‘main’ residence in the meantime.

It still gave Lan Wangji a heart attack each time the toddler made a brazen grab for the food and Wei Wuxian yanked it to safety with a screech as the infant ghoul screeched back.

“A-Yuan!”

“I wanna try!”

“How many times do you have to eat rice before you figure out you can’t?!”

“But I _wanna_!!”

“A-Yuan, don’t you remember the last time you had it? You complained about the grains for a week!”

A-Yuan huffed and puffed, “But that was _your_ cooking. Lan-gege’s is better.”

Lan Wangji snorted as the most affronted look he had ever seen appeared on Wei Wuxian’s face.

“. . . You have given him your cooking?”

“Only a little bit~” the other wheedled, “I thought that _maybe_ if it was just _seasoned_ with chili, then it’d be fine.”

“Any food without RC cells cannot react with a ghoul’s digestive enzymes and thus cannot be digested by a ghoul.”

“Yeah, I know that _now_.”

“No matter the size, toddlers can choke on undigested food.”

“I _know_.”

Lan Wangji shook his head at him, making sure his disapproval was oozing.

Wei Wuxian stuck his tongue out in response, quickly shoving in a spoonful of curry.

“Lan-gege,” A-Yuan slid down and waddled over to his pant leg, “Lan-gege.”

“Mm,” he reached down and scooped the toddler up into his lap, much to Wei Wuxian’s visible ire.

“You’re spoiling him.”

“He did not eat the food, as we asked. Good behaviour should be rewarded.”

His partner snorted around his next mouthful of curry.

A-Yuan tugged on his sleeve, “Lan-gege, can I watch TV?”

“Come on, A-Yuan, I already told you that Lan Zhan’s working on one of his final essays,” Wei Wuxian reached over to prod the toddler’s nose and the ghoul screwed up his face. Lan Wangji frowned slightly.

“Is he hungry?”

“Souldn’t be, we went out last night,” Wei Wuxian put up an elbow against the table, chin resting atop the fist, “hey, A-Yuan, don’t you want to come over to the couch to watch some TV and leave Lan-gege alone?”

“No.” the toddler responded very resolutely, and Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes, slumping back in his chair.

“ _A-Yuan_.” 

“It’s fine,” Lan Wangji assured him, “He can stay. You should study.”

Wei Wuxian’s exams were mostly before his, the huge science papers done with enough time to be marked, unlike the music performances which were marked primarily on the spot.

Wei Wuxian frowned at him.

“You sure? If you let him stay, trust me when I say that he will stay there.”

“It’s fine,” Lan Wangji repeated, a trace stubborn, holding eye contact until his partner finally gave in.

And thus, when Wen Qing arrived, it was to the sight of Lan Wangji meticulously typing out an essay on his laptop, arms stretched out around the toddler shifting in his lap, who was very occupied with drooling on tiny knuckles as the TV flashed with excellently toddler-distracting colours and sound.

“. . . You good there?”

Lan Wangji didn’t respond, merely sent her a polite head nod, and continued working on his essay.

“Stubborn angel, that one,” Wei Wuxian grinned, a pen stuck behind his ear as he went over a practice exam with a red marker, “You here to pick him up?”

“Can’t.”

They both looked at her and she shrugged, “I have another meeting with the investors tomorrow morning. Do you mind keeping him for the night?”

“Of course not,” Wei Wuxian sat up, “But you’ve been meeting with them almost daily now.”

“That’s actually something I want to talk with you about,” Wen Qing sat down rather primly on one of the grimy couches. Wei Wuxian immediately frowned, moving across from her, Lan Wangji at his side.

(A-Yuan placidly shifted in front of the TV, blissfully unaware)

“Is there trouble?” Wei Wuxian asked, tension immediately straightening his frame, but she quickly waved him down.

“Nothing too urgent - I’ve had several calls about managing the Wen family fortune and debts that need to be paid and politicians that I’ve never met are introducing themselves as long time friends of Wen Ruohan, but that’s all stuff I can deal with.”

“I thought you were disinherited.” Lan Wangji frowned, and Wen Qing rolled her eyes.

“There’s, like, fifty of us. Those old coots disinherited the ones they remembered and then didn’t care about the rest who came with us,” she groaned and tugged on her ponytail, “of course, now that they’re the _only_ legal Wens still alive, everyone wants a piece of them.”

“Want me to beat them up?” Wei Wuxian offered with a level of cheer that Lan Wangji should probably find concerning rather than endearing. Wen Qing rolled her eyes once more.

“As much as I’d love to see it, we’re good.” She paused there, thumbing the corner of the table, “The main problem is that people are going to want to find loopholes to wrest it out from us. And I’m worried that the longer this is delayed, the more likely it is that someone will lock onto A-Yuan.”

Wei Wuxian’s jovial expression flickered. Lan Wangji’s eyes pinched.

“He is the most direct inheritor.” He pointed out and she groaned.

“I _know_ , but if word gets out, if _doves_ find out, it’s going to become a mess.”

“The Yilling ghouls were exempt because they’d been removed from the family,” Wei Wuxian agreed, stiffly, “but that doesn’t strictly include A-Yuan.”

“And if I make a financial decision that pisses someone off, they might tell the CCG - or the other Clans.” She scowled, “Those sort of people are petty enough to get a child killed.”

“I can arrange something,” Lan Wangji pointed out and Wei Wuxian scoffed.

“Trust me on this, Lan Zhan, no one likes a martyr.”

He thinned his lips in irritation.

“So on that matter,” Wen Qing straightened up and looked Wei Wuxian dead in the eye, “how would you feel about adopting him?”

Wei Wuxian blinked.

“. . . Seriously?”

“Yes. I could then negotiate a trust.”

He was already leaping to his feet as she spoke, “No, _seriously?_! Wen Qing, I am the _last_ person who should be looking after a kid!”

“Oh, sure,” she arched an eyebrow, “you only take care of him most days of the week. It’s only like most of his stuff is here anyway.”

He gaped, “B-but . . . what about Granny? Or you, or A-Ning or-?”

“Wei Ying, Granny has long deserved a break. And I’ve got med school! A-Ning’s got fifteen jobs!”

“ _I’ve_ got uni.” Wei Wuxian pointed out and she frowned.

“It was always on the cards.”

“I mean, yes, but,” Wei Wuxian sat back, “we talked about when I’d finished my undergrad.”

“So, it just gets advanced a bit, who cares?” She shrugged, “It’s just an undergrad.”

“ _Wen Qing_.”

“Look, you’ve only got one semester to go,” she pointed out, “ignoring the fact that he basically lives here, we need to officiate his new guardian anyway. It’s convenient to do it now. And once it gets the vultures off my back, I’ll chip in whenever.”

Wei Wuxian just blinked at her and Lan Wangji pulled him over so the One-Eyed Ghoul could press up against him for support.

“I will help.” He promised confidently, blinking as Wei Wuxian startled.

“Oh, no, Lan Zhan, you don’t have to-”

“I would like too.” He blinked, “I like A-Yuan.”

Wei Wuxian seemed to stiffen slightly, “Right.”

Lan Wangji internally cursed.

(Had he overstepped? Had he really just agreed to intervene in the life of a child Wei Wuxian had been practically in charge of for several years? Was his level of devotion _that_ obvious?)

“Okay,” Wei Wuxian exhaled instead, “Okay, sure.”

He sent Lan Wangji a beaming smile and he felt like his heart would burst.

“Let’s do this. Why the fuck not?”

“Fuck!” A-Yuan agreed happily from his place before the TV and all three of them fell into a deadly silence.

“. . . _Wei Wuxian.”_

“Whoops?”

(Somehow, Lan Wangji persuaded him to jump down from the tree after forty minutes)

Wei Wuxian vanished into the eternal abyss of his exams for a while after that, putting a hold on their paired practice as he sat the exams for his core subjects. In the meanwhile, Lan Wangji took the opportunity to instead focus on his core performances, his theoretical, practical and comprehension exams for multiple subjects all requiring their own practice.

Aside from the occasionally photo, mostly of A-Yuan and whatever other cute thing caught Wei Wuxian’s eye, they mostly focused on their own subjects for the next couple of weeks, their shared exam, the last exam for both of them, ever so quickly advancing upon them.

He would stop by to take care of A-Yuan, but this was mostly when Wei Wuxian couldn’t, so it wasn’t exactly boosting their time together.

It was just temporary. Just to the end of exams.

He _missed_ him so much.

(He really couldn’t live apart from Wei Ying, could he?)

The night of the performance exam was cloudy, snow tantalisingly close, as the various students rocked up to the same performance hall that the University of Gusu had been conducting music performance exams in for about ninety odd years now. It wasn’t just their particular subject performing tonight, and as he arrived at the venue, Lan Wangji at least made an effort to greet some of the other music students that he’d shared prior units with.

Wei Wuxian was waiting for him near the front door, hopping from one foot to the other and twirling his flute. He was being uncharacteristically reticent, listening to various conversations from the edge rather than being an active participant.

His face brightened as Lan Wangji approached.

“Lan Zhan! Hiya! And Elder Brother Lan too!”

“It is a pleasure to see you again, Young Master Wei.” Lan Xichen smiled at Lan Wangji’s side, “I’m looking forward to this performance - Wangji has been unusually stingy when it came to telling me about it.”

One day, Lan Xichen would learn to keep his nose out of Lan Wangji’s life, but as he glared at his elder brother, he lost a little bit more hope that it would be someday soon.

Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, just laughed, “No wonder! We had a deal, after all~”

“Oh?” Lan Xichen turned to him with a beaming look, “And what was this deal?”

“Sound checks are starting,” he caught Wei Wuxian’s wrist and dragged him away, voice a little too curt to diminish the look on his Brother’s face. Luckily, Wei Wuxian didn’t fight, following beside him cheerfully as they headed inside.

“I thought all your family came to watch you play?”

“They will come at the time of the performance,” he explained, “Brother drove me here. Yours?”

“Aw, hell no,” Wei Wuxian laughed, “I have to bully them to come to my _science_ showcases - you think they’d bother with a broadening unit?”

Well, no, he used to think ghouls would never care for anything of the sort, but . . .

“Jiang Yanli is busy?”

“I mean, she has A-Ling, so she’s kind of always busy,” Wei Wuxian brightened up, “he’s a _handful_ , and they couldn’t find a babysitter for tonight. She let me know a while back.”

The two scanned their names and ID cards up at the entrance, a quick message alerting them of their time slot with a reminder of the standard procedure of stating one’s student number, then the subject code, etc. Given Lan Wangji’s lengthy amount of experience in the matter, they both agreed he’d speak on their behalf.

(One of the things he had to say was the name of the piece)

The waiting room was as raucous as they always were, students obsessively checking finger positions and tuning. Lan Wangji had felt a trace of concern about Wei Wuxian’s flute being exposed to the cold, but a quick check with his phone revealed it to be fine.

(“It’s apparently been in my Mum’s family for years - a little cold isn’t enough to mess it up.”)

They were left to mostly their own devices, waiting as various examinees went through to the auditorium, their only real contact coming from a quick message from Lan Xichen informing that the rest of the Lan family, or at least, those who felt like watching, had arrived. It was mostly his great-aunts and great-uncles, the ones who’d supplemented his uncle in his caretaking. And of course, Uncle and Brother would be right up front.

Wei Wuxian leant over his back, reading the message over his shoulder.

“Hey, Lan Zhan?”

“Mm?”

“My family’s having a pretty chill get together at Shijie’s place on the weekend - do ya want to come?”

He blinked and glanced at the face on his shoulder, “They would not mind?”

“Nah, they won’t. I was planning on bringing A-Yuan anyway - oh, and you’ll get to meet Madam Yu. She’ll finally stop bugging me about it.”

(The Lan Family advocated absolute honesty, so Lan Wangji had no shame in thinking he would rather not meet one of the most infamously cannibalistic ghouls in the city).

Still, as their number grew ever so closer, and their absent talk dwindled down, slowly Lan Wangji found himself feeling the ever so unwelcome strains of Hesitation.

Could he do this? Could he really do this?

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian intwined their fingers and smiled confidently, “Let’s go. It’s our turn next.”

He nodded, and the pair walked out, both once more stating their student IDs. The auditorium spread out, about half full of various supportive family and friends, with the four examiner’s up front at their table. 

One of them deftly read out the boundaries of the exams, the warning bell if the piece breached the three-minute mark and so on, before gesturing for one of them to formally introduce themselves.

Lan Wangji spoke the information mechanically, their names, their subject, their years and their exact instruments.

“And the name?” One of them asked, adjusting their glasses.

He swallowed.

(And balked)

“Untitled.” He spoke simply, moving to seat behind his _guqin_. Wei Wuxian stared at him for a single moment, before merely smiling in acquiesce and lifting his own _dizi_ in anticipation.

The examiners marked it down with a quick scribble and one rang the soft bell.

As he fell into the opening chords, ingrained into the very marrow of his bones by this stage, he had to resist closing his eyes and falling into the music. Instead he focused on Wei Wuxian, as he joined in perfectly, their two sounds weaving together, over and under, back and forth, a dance of two that had become their own muscle memory. 

It was their song, ever note, every breath, every beat. Every drawn-out sound, every shortened sound, each marked the other as one half of their pair.

Not one mistake occurred, for any missed note, any wrong tone, was immediately matched by the other, their eyes locked together and leaving the rest of the world shut out.

And as it wound to a close, the whole audience, temporarily rendered silent, got to their feet and applauded.

The whole crowd of his relatives were waiting for them when they exited the backstage area, all ready to flock around him and offer individual congratulations. It was nothing he hadn’t heard before, but he _was_ grateful that they took time out to see him, even if the motivation sat in a more judgemental majority than a supportive one.

Still, as he was being extolled the excellence of pairing a _guqin_ with another traditional instrument for the twelfth time, he couldn’t help but realise that Wei Wuxian had slipped away during the commotion.

(No. No, no, he had _decided_ , he had _hesitated_ and now Wei Ying was probably _gone_ and-)

Lan Xichen cast him a side-eye and angled himself into a position that blocked the door as he started up a conversation with Great-uncle Lan Yang. Lan Wangji ducked past him, slipping out when everyone’s attention faltered and hurrying off into the night. The first of the snow was beginning as he stepped onto the sidewalk and took off.

Wei Wuxian was walking about five minutes ahead of him, headphones radiating music audible to a third party, one hand sunk deep into his coat as the other lightly tapped against his phone screen.

The One-Eyed Ghoul was turning before Lan Wangji had even caught his sleeve, expression shifting into something that was likely surprised but Lan Wangji’s ability to perceive Wei Wuxian’s physical cues seem to be decreasing in accordance with the increase in his nerves.

“Lan Zhan . . .?” Wei Wuxian tilted his head up in question, pulling out his headphones, “aren’t you going back with your family?”

“I merely needed to accept their congratulations,” he answered mechanically, “I have no prior commitment.”

“O-oh,” Wei Wuxian let out an abrupt chuckle, “I kind of just assumed you were having some bug family dinner. Oh no, don’t pull that face, Lan Zhan, surely you enjoy spending time with your extended family.”

Whatever his face did next prompted a giggle from Wei Wuxian and he internally screamed as his throat choked up.

“So, what’s up?” He relaxed back, a couple of snowflakes settling atop his dark hair.

Lan Wangji swallowed down.

“The name of the song.”

Of all the things he could have said, that wasn’t what Wei Wuxian had been expecting. His face visibly froze, startled as his brain shifted gears.

(What had he been expecting?)

Then Wei Wuxian laughed again, and Lan Wangji allowed himself to unclench his fists.

“Oh, Lan Zhan!” He got up between his laughs, “I don’t care if you didn’t come up with a name. It wasn’t like _mine_ were any good!”

“No.”

“No?” Wei Wuxian blinked, “Wait, you did like them?”

“No . . . I mean, yes, but that wasn’t,” he swallowed again and wondered if one was able to strangle oneself with headphone cords, “There is a name.”

Wei Wuxian arched an eyebrow, grin turning shit-eating and by the grace of the gods if he didn’t get this out before Wei Wuxian made it a joke he was going to Die.

“I did not want others to hear it though.” It cut off Wei Wuxian’s look of mischief enough for him to forge on, “just us.”

“Just us huh?” Wei Wuxian echoed, with an unknown tremble in his voice that Lan Wangji didn’t need to hear right now. “So, let’s hear it then?”

His palms were sweaty.

(He wiped them on his pants)

His heart and brain were drumming out of time, one desperately screaming abort abOrT ABORT-

(Wei Wuxian blinked again, and as the snow framed his beautiful face, another part pushed ‘go’)

“Wangxian.”

Wei Wuxian’s shoulders hitched.

“Wang . . . xian?” He sounded out, soft and hesitant.

(Hopeful? Or was that Lan Wangji’s own hope reading too deeply into this?)

He managed a nod.

“Wangxian,” his partner repeated, and his head dropped to his chest, and his shoulders did that little tremble that marked laughter and had Lan Wangji just messed this up, had he just broken Wei Wuxian?

“Wei Ying!”

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian’s head bounced back up and his eyes were shining, “Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan!” 

He burst into joyous laughter, hands up to grasp Lan Wangji’s cheeks.

“If you named it something like that then . . .” he inhaled, “then . . . then you won’t argue if I . . .?”

He was leaning forward, and Lan Wangji could only watch as his lips opened ever so slightly, his face _right there_.

He closed the distance and caught Wei Wuxian’s mouth with his own. Wei Wuxian mumbled the tiniest of squeaks, but before he could retreat, the One-Eyed Ghoul caught his jacket and tugged him closer, immediately deepening the kiss.

Lan Wangji considered himself a humble man, with a reasonably secure ego. So, as choirs sang in his ears and stars bloomed across his eyes, he had no qualms in apologising to every single romantic he had ever cast disdain upon for their dramatisation of a proper kiss with one’s beloved.

(It really was that heavenly)

With all his ancestors as witness, he swore his heart was so full he could fly right off the ground, the only thing rooting him being the burning grip on his jacket. He opened his mouth slightly wider, and Wei Wuxian only grew more eager, pushing in deeper, a hand reaching up to twist in his hair, both pressing closer, so much closer, only their clothing blocking them.

Somehow, through a method definitely unknown to Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian pulled back with a flushed beam.

“Yours or mine?”

“Mine is closer.”

“Oh?” Wei Wuxian’s eyes twinkled mischievously, “Does Lan Er-gege want to try and keep me quiet?”

(No.)

“Yours.” He decided flatly and Wei Wuxian burst into laughter, red all across his face, as he took Lan Wangji’s wrist and dragged him over to his bike, tucked into a shelter to protect it from the snow.

“Did you like that, Lan Er-gege~?”

(He did, he realised. He liked it a _lot_.)

“Elder Brother Lan won’t mind?”

“He is . . . tacitly aware.” 

Wei Wuxian hummed, switching on his bike’s ignition. “Your Uncle?”

“Wei Ying,” he climbed up behind his partner and breathed the words into the shell of his ear, “stop talking about others.”

Wei Wuxian exhaled in a single, shaky breath, as they sped off into the night, the first snows swirling around their lights. And if Wei Wuxian had driven over the speed limit in his urgency to reach Yiling, well, Lan Wangji felt no need to comment.

The door had barely closed behind them before Lan Wangji was stripping Wei Wuxian of his clothes with a single-minded focus. He was a One-Eyed Ghoul, he shouldn’t be any sort of sensitive to the cold, so why was he wearing so many layers?!

Wei Wuxian laughed the whole way through, helping with the buttons of the red checked shirt lying underneath his jacket and hoodie and jumper.

The entire process was hindered by their compulsive need to kiss every other second, hands trailing across scalps, chests, backs and thighs.

“Bedroom.”

“Nn.”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian laughed, shimmying out of his pants and underwear, and the sound reverberated through his throat, each vibration felt by the lips Lan Wangji had pressed against them, “if you try anything here, you will break a wall. Or a table. Or something. And I can’t afford to replace any of it. Bed. Now.”

Lan Wangji huffed, Wei Wuxian here before him, so warm and vibrant and the thought of _delaying_ for something like _money_ which Lan Wangji could _easily_ cover-

“All my stuff’s in my bedroom drawer anyway.”

Lan Wangji scooped him up and Wei Wuxian let out a gleeful chirp as he was carried all the way to his unmade double bed. He didn’t squawk as Lan Wangji dropped him onto his back, merely grinning and reclining down onto his elbows, legs draping over the sides, basking in his own nudity as Lan Wangji found said drawer and immediately slotted himself between those knees, up on his own, as if he could even _begin_ to worship the beauty before him.

Lan Wangji shed his shirt, all of a sudden too hot to keep it on for a second longer and Wei Wuxian hummed appreciatively.

He huffed a laugh, pressed down and sucked a sweet mark against Wei Wuxian’s throat.

The gasp made him glance up and he almost startled.

_[The kakugan]_ Lan Wangji’s brain helpfully supplied _[emerges in order to register and adapt to higher levels of stimuli. It most commonly manifests when a ghoul is hunting, afraid or agitated. Holistically it is a sign of arousal]_

Lan Wangji could only stare, enchanted as Wei Wuxian writhed beneath him, nails digging into Lan Wangji’s shoulders as black spread across his sclera, red blossoming in place of his iris.

(Wei Wuxian was _definitely_ aroused)

The thought filled him with the sort of glee he had come to expect with Wei Wuxian and he leant down, nuzzling and lapping at that neck, scent heady, as his fingers felt around for Wei Wuxian’s nipples and began to fiddle, teasing and playing with them.

Wei Wuxian _whined_.

So, Lan Zhan let his lips slid down and he _dug_ his teeth in.

Wei Wuxian gasped under him, whole body bunching reflexively, as his gaze snapped into focus, a dramatic pout forming on his face.

“Lan Zhan!” he gasped, scandalised, “We agreed! No biting! No teeth touching body!”

Lan Wangji stared down at him, moody, “We agree _you_ would not bite _me_.”

Wei Wuxian’s gasp was cut off as Lan Wangji clamped his mouth over Wei Wuxian’s throat, sucking a hickey into existence.

“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, I would argue there was a mutual agreement implied! An adherence to the Spirit of the rule, not just the Letter!”

“Too much aimless chatter,” he instead hummed into the burning shoulder, and used a spare hand to feel around for the bottle of lube. He poured out a generous amount, quickly rubbed his hands to warm it slightly, and reached down to trail a hand up Wei Wuxian’s thighs.

Wei Wuxian inhaled.

“Good?”

“Yes, yes, good, yes, keep,” he exhaled with a pant, fingers flexing, “go.”

He hummed, pressed his lips against that burning pulse, as he shifted his fingers up against the tight rim.

“Lan Zhan-!” this time the words were exhaled, breathy and sharp, in time with Wei Wuxian’s fingers suddenly tightening against his back, “we need to flip. Now. _Now_.”

Lan Wangji reacted on cue, grasping Wei Wuxian’s back and pressing them chests together, before deftly rolling sideways to flip Wei Wuxian on top. The One -Eyed Ghoul exhaled with a long cry, as his _kagune_ almost immediately flared out, five different black tendrils all coiling and uncoiling in loose, happy curls.

“Sorry,” he panted slightly, “I’ve already ripped the sheets a couple of times - kinda didn’t want to pay for more.”

“Mm.” Lan Wangji frowned, shifting a bit so Wei Wuxian could sit more comfortably but not entirely happy with their positions.

Wei Wuxian settled down, folding his arms atop Lan Wangji’s chest. He grinned.

“Wanna bang?” he cooed coquettishly, and Lan Wangji looked up at him balefully, reaching back and squeezing that ass.

“Very much so.”

Wei Wuxian dissolved into laughter, _rinkaku_ dancing behind him. His hair finally broke free of the last tie, falling all over his face, and Lan Wangji ran his other hand across his face.

“. . . I have an idea.”’

“This one is all yours, Lan Er-gege.”

(Lan Wangji _felt_ that)

He slowly pulled Wei Wuxian off him, encouraging him to get down on his stomach instead, _rinkaku_ tendrils languidly spreading out around him, as Lan Wangji settled above him, dragging his slick fingers around Wei Wuxian’s rear.

A tendril absently drifted closer and he tugged it away.

(Wei Wuxian hiccoughed)

Lan Wangji’s eyes flickered up. Experimentally, he ran his fingers along the grasp tendril and thee One-Eyed Ghoul shivered with a pleased gasp.

[A _kagune_ is formed from RC cells and nerves - its flexibility came from having the same nerve sensitivity as a tongue.]

He grasped it and Wei Wuxian gasped. “Lan Zhan, are you having _fun_ back there?”

He wriggled around slightly, _whining_ , “I’m getting _impatient_ here, how dare you present yourself so fully, and then hold back!”

He cut himself off as Lan Wangji pressed in a first finger, words becoming a never-ending string of ‘yes’ and ‘good’ and ‘hurry, please, right _there_.’

The sound he made as Lan Wangi pushed in a second finger and curled them would have resonating throughout his whole apartment and he felt a gleeful exuberance at their choice to come back here.

And it was riding this exuberance that he leant down and dragged his tongue along the _kakuhou’s_ exit point _._

The high gasp had him glancing up, to find Wei Wuxian peering back over his shoulder, pouting furiously, teeth clenched tightly around a very drool covered pillow case.

“Bully.” he accused, “Lan Zhan is a _bully_.”

Any words of criticism fell by the wayside as Lan Wangji opened up a condom with his teeth, slicked himself up and replaced the fingers in one smooth thrust.

In fact, most things intellectual fell by the wayside then, replaced instead with deep gasps and heavy breaths, hands intertwining together as they rocked in one rhythm, tipping over their edges with each other’s names on their lips.

“Wei Ying,” he breathed out, buried deep into his beloved, chin resting against Wei Wuxian’s shoulder, and on hands absently stroking the completely blissed out a tendril, “is this . . . regular?”

“Mmyyeaah . . .” Wei Wuxian drawled out, completely bone dead, “whenever I get hella horny.”

“If it always comes out,” he asked softly, “how have you kept yourself hidden?”

“Oh that?” Wei Wuxian hummed into the pillow, “That’s because I’ve never done this with someone else before.”

They rested together for a moment.

Wei Wuxian snorted.

“Lan Zhan, did you . . . did you just get _harder_?”

And Lan Wangji leant down to capture that mouth with another kiss, as Wei Wuxian promptly erupted into raucous laughter.

(Later, as they lay with their chests together, cleaned and tidied up, Lan Wangji’s fingers trailing through Wei Wuxian’s hair, as his partner traced circles over his arms, Lan Wangji truly wondered if one could die of happiness, if fondness and love and sheer joy could swell too big for his meagre chest to contain. As Wei Wuxian pressed lazy kisses against the underside of his chin, he decided it was a death he’d be more than grateful for.)

(“Hey, Lan Zhan, does this make _us_ pretty kinky?”

Lan Wangji kneed his shins)

Lan Wangji really _was_ going to develop a severe case of PTSD pertaining to opening the doors of ghoul residences, because as soon as they entered the unnecessarily mouth-wateringly expensive penthouse apartment of Jiang Yanli and her husband, he was met with the sight of Jiang Yanli wrapping a bandage around what used to be Jin Zixuan’s fingers, as a tiny baby with Way Too Many Teeth gnawed on Jiang Wanyin’s leg with all the determination of a real life gremlin.

Luckily, Wei Wuxian didn’t seem too distressed as he herded in A-Yuan, humming pleasantly, hand still warm in Lan Wangji’s own, so he just sighed internally at his boyfriend’s ( _hahahahahahaHA_ ) casual relationship with the macabre.

“A-Xian!” Jiang Yanli beamed, welcoming even with blood all over her hands, “I hope the traffic wasn’t too bad.”

“It was fine, totally fine. We decided to walk anyway.”

“Ah, it’s so good to see you! I feel like I haven’t heard from you in _ages_ , you’re so _skinny,_ you must have been starving during exams!”

“Don’t worry, Shijie, I’m perfectly fine. Besides,” Wei Wuxian held up their linked hands with a proud beam, “we’ve been keeping busy!”

The entire living room fell silent, even the tiny baby gremlin pausing to drool over his Uncle’s leg. Lan Wangji’s terror peaked and even though he was a menu item for every person currently staring at them, he felt he couldn’t quite internally justify that bit as his excuse.

(Internally, he praised Wei Wuxian’s forward thinking in sealing their relationship away from the eyes of the Lan Family, because he was going need time before he could get this done a second time.)

The first person to move was the woman relaxing on the couch, a wine glass held in aristocratic hands, filled with a red liquid he doubted was actually wine.

“Well, it’s about fucking time, Wei Wuxian,” she drawled, “aren’t you meant to be some sort of genius?”

The dam broke.

Beside her, Jiang Fengmian rested his hand on her shoulder with a “Calm yourself, my dear, we all know A-Xian’s a little dense”, as Jiang Wanyin made some sort of cry that mixed distress, rage and relief all in one, none of which came out particularly wonderfully.

“A _little?_! Dad, he’s got one fucking brain cell and he donated it to science!”

The racket was only exacerbated as the nephew clinging to his bleeding leg gleefully tried to copy his Uncle’s screech, only this time it was a High-Pitched Edition.

At the counter, Jin Zixuan just sighed and continued to flex his regenerating fingers.

Jiang Yanli spoke over them all effortlessly, swanning to their side to usher them in, beaming as A-Yuan stretched out hands for a hug.

“Congratulations, A-Xian!” she gave her brother a quick squeeze, “I’m so happy for you! Oh, and you too, Lan Wangji, I’m sure it took a while.”

“Hey!” Wei Wuxian half-heartedly protested, as she let go to scoop up A-Yuan. “Lan Zhan! You don’t think I’m dense, do you?”

Lan Wangji stared at him blandly for a few more moments and contented himself with kissing the top of Wei Wuxian’s head. His boyfriend grumbled but was relatively appeased enough to cuddle up right against him.

(Lan Wangji preened)

“And _hello_ , sweetie, I haven’t seen you in a while!” Jiang Yanli swung the little toddler around in the meantime, “Are you taking good care of your gege?”

“Yep!” A-Yuan beamed, and Wei Wuxian sent Lan Wangji a shining smile as his sister shut the door behind them. A-Yuan reached out and they both took a hand in, guiding him into the living room.

“You remember A-Ling, don’t you A-Yuan?” Wei Wuxian crooned, leading the toddler over to his brother and nephew. The gremlin baby looked at A-Yuan with wide curious eyes as A-Yuan reached out and gently pet his head.

“A-Ling was smaller!”

“Yeah, he’s grown. You were that small once too.”

A-Yuan looked very surprised by that fact.

In the meantime, Jin Ling had successfully detached himself from Jiang Wanyin’s legs, had obediently allowed the head pat and, upon deciding that he quite liked this tiny newcomer, reached out and sunk his teeth into A-Yuan’s arm.

A-Yuan didn’t so much as jump as he did turn back and immediately sink his own teeth into Jin Ling’s shoulder.

All the ghouls cooed. Lan Wangji sighed slightly.

(Fine, whatever, ghoul babies bite, he could deal with this)

Wei Wuxian jumped back up, content to leave the toddler with Jiang Wanyin - who was looking rather brooding as he gazed over the two children, which was an image Lan Wangji really didn’t need to ever think about again and instead turned to hug his Uncle.

Madam Yu ( _the_ Violet Spider) was giving them both a critical look over.

“As far as I’m hearing, you might not be ‘gege’ for long.”

“Oh, yes, I heard that too!” Jiang Yanli clapped, “I think it’s wonderful, A-Xian! When is it official?”

“Wen Qing’s pushing for the papers - should probably be before New Year.”

“I would have liked more warning,” Madam Yu sniffed, “I have been planning our New Year gathering for two months already, I would have enjoyed knowing to expect another.”

“Surely a toddler can’t be that big of an addition,” Jiang Fengmian mused. It was at this point that Jin Zixuan returned with a twist to his face.

“With all due respect, Uncle, A-Ling eats more in a day than A-Li and I do in a month.”

“Of course, they do!” Madam Yu snapped, “Are we to be known as a family that starves our children? I wouldn’t be able to show my face at the Restaurant for months!”

Wei Wuxian huffed as he steered Lan Wangji over to a free minimalistic couch, “Sorry. It’s all a bit rowdy.”

“I do not mind.”

And he didn’t. He really didn’t. The look on Wei Wuxian’s face was one of pure joy as he gazed around the exuberant ghouls, positively vibrating with excess energy as they cuddled up together on the couch.

Wei Wuxian leant up next to his ear, “Hey Lan Zhan, how’d you feel about A-Yuan taking your name?”

He blinked, and turned, “He has been with you longer.”

“I know but,” he posed in melodramatic thought, “he just feels like a ‘Lan’, wouldn’t you agree?”

It was so close to perfect that Lan Wangji couldn’t help but close the space between them, pressing a burning kiss against Wei Wuxian’s own, hoping his gaze conveyed exactly what they would be doing after theft together. By the shine entering Wei Wuxian’s eyes, it did so successfully.

And then Jin Ling gave a cry and A-Yuan almost immediately did the same.

They were both immediately on their feet, Lan Wangji’s hand flying for his pistol as Wei Wuxian’s lefty swallowed up by black and red. The other ghouls were equally alert, _kakugan_ bright and active.

The little toddler had stumbled back to the safety of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji’s legs, from the baby who was shifting about, letting out another distressed cry.

Jiang Yanli suddenly gasped. “Oh! Is . . . is this-?!”

Jin Ling let out another cry and his eyes flared, the black of his own infant kakugan still stained with white, his red not entirely active, as his neat little jumpsuit gave with a tear and the beginnings of ivory began to unfurl out of his right shoulder blade.

“It’s his first _kagune_!” Jiang Cheng _squealed_ , crouching down, arms extending encouragingly as the ivory slowly began to form itself into a jagged blade.

“He’s got the Suiha too!” Jin Zixuan clutched his wife in ecstasy, and Jin Ling determinedly clambered up onto his baby feet, letting out another cry.

Another spike appeared and they all gasped as they began sprouting all across his shoulders, like the flared tail of a peacock, with another large one blossoming from his left shoulder blade, slowly forming a blade of ivory. Wei Wuxian clutched Lan Wangji’s arm.

“It’s . . . two _kagune_?” he realised, and Lan Wangji blinked as it clicked.

“A chimera.” He spoke simply, “an _ukaku_ and _kohaku_ synthesised into one.”

“A-LING!” Jiang Yanli scooped him up and tossed him into the air, “A chimera! You love both your Mama and Baba that much, huh?”

“One-of-a-kind,” Jin Zixuan breathed, extending a finger for his son to grab and gnaw on.

Madam Yu was immediately on her phone.

“Get me A-Jie on the line, we need to organise A-Ling’s First _Kagune_ Party, within the week.”

“I’ll contact the caterers then, dear.”

Wei Wuxian just laughed, reaching out and swinging himself around Lan Wangji’s front. “A chimera, Lan Zhan! Haven’t I told you so many times how wonderful my nephew is?”

“Mm.”

“Xian-gege!” A-Yuan tugged on his pants, “What’s a camera?”

“Chimera,” Lan Wangji corrected dutifully, “It is a special _kagune_.”

“Oh. Like mine!” A-Yuan immediately brightened, “A-Ling’s like A-Yuan!”

“A little, but your halo is a bit different,” Wei Wuxian scooped him up and rubbed their noses together, “but you’re both so special.”

“Mm,” Lan Wangji reached out and tucked back a stray lock of Wei Wuxian’s hand, allowing his hand to stop as it cupped Wei Wuxian’s cheek, “both so special.”

Wei Wuxian laughed, extending his own hand and pulling Lan Wangji close, the two wrapped around the toddler between them.

“Let’s hope my first formal party at your place is a bit calmer, huh?”

“Anything is good,” he assured his partner, “anything with Wei Ying is perfect.”

“Perfect.” Wei Wuxian agreed, smile as bright as the sun and heterochromatic eyes shining, “As long as we’re together.”

And Lan Wangji pulled him in for a long kiss he didn’t feel the need to break any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The END (OF THE PINING) OF THE STORY  
> Ish  
> I have one more epilogue-esque chapter planned, but YES we have come to this end of the tale! I hope you have all enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it and bringing this combined world to life!  
> I couldn’t have made it without all you loving and supporting this fic so I’m sending the biggest of thank yous to everyone who read all the way through!
> 
> All exam stress you witness above has been (sadly) adapted from real life footage
> 
> MXTX didn’t have to make the best character in tgcf genderfluid but she did for us
> 
> LXC/NMJ/MY: having their whole thing  
> LWJ, straight up staring at his phone: is it rude if-?
> 
> My brain: we’re not going to make this Wednesday deadline  
> Me, harnessing the pits of my big brain energy: you THOUGHT  
> Brain: . . . we started TODAY with only 3K previously written  
> Me, rolling up my clown sleeves: I ONLY HEAR A CHALLENGE TO ACCEPT


	10. we'll unravel this world

The target was heading for the side alleys, because of course he was. Ghouls on the run always loved heading more towards emptier areas, areas where they could run quicker and fight better.

The pursuer just chuckled. His target had underestimated exactly what it was that was chasing him.

Just as the target struck out into an old abandoned skate park, he leapt down from above.

His _kagune_ bloomed out across his shoulders like a fan, two long _kokaku_ blades forming along his arms.

The ghoul twisted, his own _kokaku_ raising in defence.

Their blades clashed and the other ghoul danced back as his _kagune_ fired small ivory spikes.

And then they both had to duck away as partitions of an ice-blue quinque whipped around the both of them.

“Lan Jingyi!” he yelled in irritation, ducking back, “I had this!!”

“What are you doing, Young Mistress?!” his teammate roared back, retracting his snake blade “I said wait!”

“I wasn’t listening!”

“Guys, he’s getting away!” Ouyang Zizhen sprinted back them, swinging his axe-styled quinque. The ghoul easily dodged it and kicked him straight into Jin Ling. Both teens went down with yelps.

Their watches beeped. Five minutes until dawn.

And then the dawn arrived five minutes early in the form of two immense flaming _ukaku_ wings.

The halo of fire crackled and their target was immediately pinned down by the volley of shards. The entire group all slumped as their oldest member arrived.

“You guys okay?” Lan Sizhui asked, wide eyed, as he dropped between them, ever so slightly shrinking the _kagune_ down from the flaming loop above his head to little sparklers dancing out from both his shoulder blades. Jin Ling huffed and his _ukaku_ spiked up higher, defensive.

“I had him.”

“No, _we_ had him,” Lan Jingyi scowled at him, “which you would have known if you hadn’t switched off your earpiece!”

“I wouldn’t turn it off if the static wasn’t so bad! It’s like having some crackle a chip packet in my ear! “

“Oh, boo hoo, the Young Mistress had to deal with something being _sub-standard_!”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Come on now . . .” Lan Sizhui stepped between them, a trace warningly, “Now is not the time for a fight.”

“And I really thought we had it this time too . . .” Ouyang Zizhen sighed in agreement, furling up his quinque.

“Young Master Ouyang is quite right.”

They all winced.

The lights came back on.

Lianfang-zun lightly stepped down to their spot. With a mechanical whir, his quinx unfurled and the thin, silver, _bikaku_ deftly broke through the _ukaku_ shards pinning the ‘target’ ghoul to the wall. The ghoul, specially trained to avoid the very often lethal blows caused in these training sessions, nodded in thanks, sent them pitying looks and then headed off to prepare for the next team.

“It was certainly an . . . impressive display.” Meng Yao began.

“Did he just pause on us?” Lan Jingyi hissed in Ouyang Zizhen’s ear, and his friend nodded glumly.

“Lan Jingyi, you cannot fling out a sword like that and hope that it will hit something - a little more accuracy please.”

“Yes, sir . . .”

“Jin Ling, they’re right. You cannot just turn off your communications. Out in the field, you would never be able be allowed such an act, as it makes you hard to keep track off. Lan Sizhui too - you hesitated because you wanted your team to have a go and in the real world, that would have been too late. You both took advantage of the fact that this was training to act in a manner that would violate protocol.”

“Yes, sir.” They both mumbled, equally red faced but with significantly different expressions.

“As for Ouyang Zizhen, your performance was exemplary - but this is a team. You won’t achieve anything by not speaking out properly when you notice something wrong.”

“I understand.” He bowed.

The four of them paced on the spot and he smiled gently at them.

“Of course, it is only training, so mistakes are inevitable. Just as long as we learn from them. Now, it’s early Sunday morning, and I’m sure the last thing you all want to do is hang around here. Why don’t you all head on home?”

“Yes, sir . . .” they all grumbled with various levels of enthusiasm, trekking out of the training room and off to the lockers.

Jin Ling was particularly surly as he took off the shirt with specially designed gaps for his _kagune_ , replacing it with a brand new t-shirt. 

“Well that sucked.”

“And who’s fault is it?”

“Jingyi,” Lan Sizhui called over his cousin before Jin Ling could get worked up again. He folded up his sweatshirt and carefully began to button up the top of his polo.

Beside him, his two friends glared at each on principle before Lan Jingyi did up his jacket with a huff and Jin Ling flicked his bleached-blonde hair up into a ponytail with a self-important sniff.

“Forget graduating, at the rate we’re going, we’ll lose to Jin Chan’s team in the next competition.” Their youngest muttered under his breath.

Lan Jingyi snorted, “As if! We’d have to be brain dead to lose to _that_ bunch!”

“How are people feeling about breakfast?” Ouyang Zizhen continued on, blissfully detached from the barbed gazes, “I’m _craving_ some boba and bread.”

“Why?”

“Dunno, man, you know how it be.”

“Boba fucking sucks,” Jin Ling rolled his eyes and Lan Jingyi elbowed.

“You wouldn’t say that if your taste buds weren’t whack.”

“My taste buds are find, yours are the whack ones!”

“Father probably wouldn’t mind making more breakfast,” Lan Sizhui checked his phone, “we could head to my place?”

“ _Yes_ , give me Hanguang-jun’s cooking!!” Lan Jingyi crowed, flinging an arm around his cousin. The four of them slung their sports bags over their shoulders and began walking towards the exit of the China Security Committee’s training centre.

“Do you have anything to snack on?” Ouyang Zizhen glanced over and Lan Jingyi hummed in thought, before rummaging in his bag.

“Don’t.” Jin Ling looked at him glumly. “Don’t you dare.”

“Found ‘em!” Lan Jingyi produced a packet of chips, and immediately cracked them open. Jin Ling gagged.

“You’re eating dust. You’re actually eating dust.”

“Is the Young Mistress jelly~? Here, Zizhen-xiong.”

“You guys are _so disgusting_!!!”

Lan Sizhui just rolled his eyes and waited for confirmation from his Father as they headed for the light rail.

Lan Sizhui’s place was a luxury studio apartment in Yiling on the third storey. Generous donations over the past decade had grown what used to be a primarily warehouse and grungy ward into a trendier, word-of-mouth district full of fusion restaurants, bars and shopping strips. Lan Sizhui’s Father hadn’t spared a cent on their house, located right in the heart of the ward’s more upbeat features, close to both the station and the enduring warehouse district stretching out along the side of the ward so that none of them had to commute far.

“Uncle Wei!” Jin Ling screeched as soon as Lan Sizhui got the door open, “Uncle Wei! Lan Jingyi’s oppressing me!”

“Oi!”

“He is, huh?” They all jumped as Wei Wuxian stuck out his head from . . . _from_. . .

“Dad,” Lan Sizhui asked nervously, “why are you in the kitchen?”

His dad’s face fell into a pout, “Am I not allowed to get a glass of water anymore? Yeesh. Anyways, where’s the oppression?”

“Lan Jingyi’s eating chips,” Jin Ling explained defiantly, even as he sent his Uncle a very suspicious look (Wei Wuxian just grinned innocently and stepped out properly), “he waved them in my face.”

Wei Wuxian visibly tried not to laugh, biting his lips. He wasn’t the most subtle of people on the best of days and now, still wearing his sweaty work shirt, his long hair half falling out of its ponytail, no jewellery save for a single stud and his wedding ring, and some very suss gunk leaving a purple trail on his neck, he clearly had no interest in hiding his amusement.

Jin Ling scowled and the magic worked.

“Right, yes, Jingyi that is a bit rude,” Wei Wuxian inspected the chips before lightly snatching them out of Lan Jingyi’s protesting hands, “confiscated~”

“Don’t,” Jin Ling’s face pinched, “Don’t you dare.”

Wei Wuxian winked at him and began the eating the chips himself, “There’s other snacks in the pantry if you want reimbursement.”

“Gross!” Jin Ling screeched, shoving him angrily, as Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen dashed past into the house, “Uncle, you’re so disgusting!”

“Shoes off, Jingyi,” Lan Sizhui reminded, and his friend huffed, nevertheless neatly taking them off and kicking them towards Wei Wuxian’s own haphazardly discarded boots.

Someone was already in the kitchen.

“Welcome home, Sizhui.”

“Hello, Father - sorry about bringing everyone over.”

Lan Wangji gave him a slight nod, and just continued to fry up an army’s worth of scrambled eggs.

“I’d imagine you kids would be wanting breakfast, yeah?” Wei Wuxian easily lifted himself up onto the kitchen island, legs swinging, “Was last night a success?”

None of them answered and they all heard the laughter desperately trying to escape his throat.

Jin Ling scowled.

“Like you could do any better!”

Wei Wuxian smirked his way, “You wanna bet~?”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji caught his wrist, getting him to turn around, “Get off.”

He wiped the gunk off his husband’s neck as he spoke and Wei Wuxian beamed down at him, whole body oozing fondness.

“Sizhui, would you remind your parents that the honeymoon’s over?” Lan Jingyi snickered in his ear and he went red.

“You know how they are.”

“I think it’s sweet!” Ouyang Zizhen piped up.

“Mm,” Lan Wangji’s eyes drifted, ever so menacingly over the lot of them, and they all hastened away.

As Wei Wuxian slid down, they all dropped comfortably into the chairs around the dining table - a little too comfortably, if you were to ask Lan Sizhui. Wasn’t it about time they all chose someone else’s place to mooch off after a night training session?

Still they were never ungracious, and a chorus of cheers sounded as Lan Wangji placed a tray between them, bearing piles of scrambled eggs, toast, coffee and breakfast g-cubes.

Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi didn’t waste time, the younger popping about three g-cubes into his mouth at once as the other shovelled the eggs and toast together, tokenly on his plate before shoving them into his mouth. Ouyang Zizhen leant over into Lan Sizhui’s ear as he poured them both coffee.

“How many of those are you guys meant to eat per meal?”

“One.”

They matched as Jin Ling scooped up another four absently. Ouyang Zizhen snickered. 

“Hangung-jun?” Lan Jingyi meanwhile spun round, “Is there any chicken in the house?”

Lan Wangji looked down at him, from where he and Wei Wuxian had been murmuring whatever overly romantic things they murmured when they didn’t quite care about their surroundings. 

“No killing of animals.” The man replied, a trace pointedly. “No talking whilst eating.”

“We’re not in the Cloud Recesses,” Lan Jingyi defended himself, and Wei Wuxian sniggered.

“The answer, Jingyi, is that there is no chicken in the house because your Hanguang-jun forgot to buy some-AH! Okay, Lan Zhan, I’ll stop talking. You need to get over this pinching-”

“No chicken . . .” Lan Jingyi was meanwhile mourning. “But this place is the only place I can get good fried chicken.”

“Sorry,” Ouyang Zizhen winced, “a lawyer and an Investigator never really cared for cooking.”

Jin Ling, meanwhile, puffed, “My mother is one of the greatest cooks in this city! Why can you only get it _here?”_

“Yeah, but your fridge never has actual food in it,” Lan Jingyi shot right back.

“All right you two,” Lan Sizhui quickly intervened as their youngest’s face went all red and scrunched in the way it only did when he was about to go on a verbal rampage, “we’ve already fought once today. I don’t need another.”

“Mood though?” Ouyang Zizhen mumbled into his coffee and Lan Sizhui elbowed him irritably as the other two traitors snickered. 

Luckily enough though, a middle finger sent the way of Lan Jingyi’s pointed ignorance was enough to calm down the young ghoul, enough for Wei Wuxian to swoop in and ruffle his blonde hair, picking at the dark roots beginning to show.

“So, what happened out there?” he asked, chipperly ignoring his nephew’s indignant screeching.

Lan Sizhui sighed, “We all sort of collided. Communications crossed.”

“What are you down in the dumps for, Sizhui?” Lan Jingyi whined, “ _You_ did fine. Lianfang-zun’s gonna tell Zewu-jun and he’ll be up our asses tonight!”

“Tonight?” Lan Sizhui frowned. His Father glanced over from where he was washing up from presumably his own breakfast.

“The opera. We are attending the opening function.”

Lan Sizhui nodded in remembrance as both Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling groaned.

“Do we have to schmooze for an hour?” Wei Wuxian grumbled, resting his chin down on his nephew’s head. Lan Wangji nodded, and his husband grumbled.

“Do we even have to _go?_ ” Jin Ling tried to dislodge the man clinging to him. His Uncle brightened up with a snicker.

“Oh, you don’t, but I imagine _your_ dad might be up your ass about it.”

Jin Ling slowly tipped his head up, scowl growing, “What did you do?”

“Nothing much~”

“Wei Ying.”

“Just made an itty-bitty bet!”

“Dad!”

“Okay, okay,” he rolled his eyes, “I made a bet with Jin Zixuan over whose kid was the most well-behaved, so he’s definitely going to want you to come tonight.”

“You-! Get off me!!” Jin Ling hissed, “You smell like a lab anyway.”

“Oddly enough, since I was in one an hour ago.”

“Urgh, you’re such a nerd,” Jin Ling downed the last of the coffee and stood up, “thanks for the food, Hanguang-jun.”

Lan Wangji nodded as the youngest grabbed his bag and sprinted out, sticking his tongue out at Wei Wuxian on the way back.

Wei Wuxian scoffed as the door shut. “Little brat. Can’t believe he’s going to be fifteen soon.”

“Sizhui’s gonna be seventeen sooner,” Lan Jingyi pointed out around a mouthful of eggs.

As he hurriedly swallowed them under Lan Wangji’s stern gaze, Wei Wuxian’s whole face screwed up.

“No. No, I don’t like that.”

All three snorted, and Ouyang Zizhen tidied up his own plate.

“I should head home too. Come on, Jingyi-xiong, Dad can give you a lift back to Gusu.”“Lianfang-zun’s already told Zewu-Jun, hasn’t he?” the teen responded glumly, and Wei Wuxian reached out to clap him on the back.

“Ah, he won’t be mean about it.”

Lan Jingyi exhaled.

“Chifeng-zun though . . .?”

“ _Dad_ ,” Lan Sizhui rolled his eyes, as his cousin went _white_. Wei Wuxian winked at him, waving at the two as they grabbed their bags and headed out the door, Ouyang Zizhen patting their now quietly praying friend on the shoulder.

Lan Sizhui sighed fondly.

“In all seriousness though, Dad, when did you get back from the lab?” He asked, a bit less joking, once the front door shut.

Wei Wuxian shrugged, pulling at his knotty hair, “Oh, you know. Some time.”

“Did you get to sleep?”

His Dad shrugged again. They both turned as Lan Wangji arrived, hooking his arm around his husband’s waist and pressing his lips against Wei Wuxian’s neck.

“Take a nap.”

“Aiyoh, Lan Zhan, I’m not that lazy - I’ll help you both clean up.”

“It’s fine, really,” Lan Sizhui nodded in agreement with his Father, “you can sleep. We’ve got this.”

“Ah, A-Yuan, so responsible!” Wei Wuxian dramatically declared, wrapping his boy up into a hug of his own, “Where did you get it from, huh?”

“Taking care of you?”

“Mm.”

“Both of you are absolutely unreasonable, insisting I take care of myself,” he tutted, but kissed them both, “wake me up for lunch, ‘kay~?”

He wandered off down the hall and soon the sounds of a shower started up.

“Sizhui, clear the table.”

“Right.” He deftly brought over the empty plate and glasses, as his Father finished washing up, “You’re not upset we kind of failed?”

“It is only through failure that we learn our weakness,” Lan Wangji responded, in his usual state-of-the-matter way, “And it’s not like the competition is steep.”

Lan Sizhui’s head snapped up to see his Father’s usual serene expression, and he promptly burst into laughter.

He spent the rest of the morning doing all the schoolwork that he never got time to do on Saturdays, tossing a snack cube into his mouth every so often.

His Dad slumbered away in the Master Bedroom, and he could hear the faints sounds of his Father’s _guqin_ dancing out from his studio, testing new melodies to play for the kids in the CSC’s care.

He took a break at noon, heading downstairs to find his Father already setting the table.

“Sizhui, would you please get the water glasses?”

“Okay-”

The doorbell rang and they both turned.

Lan Sizhui moved without prompting, padding over and pulling the door ever so slightly open.

And then he opened fully, “Hi, Uncle Huaisang.”

A door clicked behind him, likely his Father going to wake up his Dad. 

Nie Huaisang pushed up his shades and beamed, “Hey there, Little Sizhui. May I?”

“Of course,” he stepped aside so the other could enter and beeline his way to the eclectic mess that was the main sitting room.

Their home was an ode to the different tastes of his fathers. Long white plush couches that Lan Wangji bought after spending five hours in furniture shops were intermingled with the old antique chairs and secondhand beanbags that Wei Wuxian spotted walking past an op-shop window. The coffee table was a custom ordered Atreyu, and he set out the four felt coasters that Aunt Yanli had handmade them as a housewarming gift.

Nie Huaisang hummed appreciatively as he brewed and poured a pot of rose tea, another gift, this time from Lan Xichen. He was just sitting down when Lan Wangji returned, pulling a yawning Wei Wuxian behind him.

He grinned lopsidedly, “Hey, Huaisang-xiong, thought you weren’t going to be back until next week.”

“Well, I was _planning_ on it,” the man fluttered a silk fan, “but the expo peaked too early - all they had left _barely_ counted as Eastern Han.”

“And definitely _not_ because your brother was pestering you?”

Nie Huaisang looked entirely unbothered.

“Wei-xiong, Wei-xiong, I’ve learnt many things in my life,” he wafted his hand over his face and gazed off at some rather ordinary part of their ceiling, “and one of them is to not take my dear brother’s pestering too seriously.”

“But you don’t mind pestering _my_ brother~?”

Nie Huaisang glanced down and immediately went to whack him with his fan. Lan Wangji caught the blow with an arched eyebrow, Wei Wuxian resting tight up against him with a giggle and Nie Huaisang glanced away, huffing.

“Your brother still wishes for your help with the CSC.” Lan Wangji put out, taking an elegant sip of tea and Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes.

“My dear brother needs to understand that the formation of the CSC dropped the work demand _and_ collated the minds of ghouls and Investigators and some of us who really were’t needed after the merge, did not need to stick around in jobs our families had decided!”

“He’s already lectured you, hasn’t he?” Wei Wuxian grinned. Nie Huaisang reclined with folded legs.

“The world isn’t the same as it was growing up. Not every member needs to get into the business, and really, what was Da-ge expecting after the Sunshot Campaign? The family business was never that important to me.”

“I know. Would you mind telling that to A-Yuan instead?”

Lan Sizhui chuckled, a bit tightly, “I _want_ to get my combat license.”

“Oh please,” Wei Wuxian took a sip of his tea, “They’re not that useful.”

“Says the one who never got his,” Nie Huaisang replied pointedly and Wei Wuxian stuck his tongue out in response.

Lan Wangji pat his husband’s head, “You are not coming tonight.”

“No, I saw it when it came through last year,” Nie Huaisang reached over, “so I came to bring these~ over before I forgot.”

“Aww, Huaisang-xiong, looking out for us, I see~” Wei Wuxian crooned, as he pulled out an artisanal bottle of Baijiu that his husband immediately looked at warily.

“And I got this for you, Little Sizhui!”

“Thank you?” he inspected the jade . . . was that a turtle? Camel? Pig??

Nie Huaisang beamed at it, “It’s aura was very you.”

He nodded, in vague appreciation as the man wafted back to his feet with a wave of his fan.“Well, I’ll be off - have to get some of these to Jin-xiong and Jiang-xiong.”

“Are you staying with him as well~?” Wei Wuxian waggled his eyebrows, hiding behind his husband as Nie Huaisang glared at him.

“Wei Ying.

“All right, all right, Lan Zhan, if you insist. Coffee next week?”

“Sounds lovely!” Nie Huaisang waved at them, fan all a flutter, “Goodbye everyone!”

They waited for the front door to swing shut.

“. . . So, like, who else _desperately_ needs lunch now?”

Lan Wangji drove them to the opera house, in the North of Lanling, right when the sun was setting. Wei Wuxian was still absently putting in his latest gold piece, an exquisite gold chain linking his septum piercing to his lowest right ear piercing gifted to him by Lan Wangji on his last birthday.

“Hey, A-Yuan?” he called over his shoulder, “You sure you don’t want a piercing for your seventeenth?”

“I’m good.”

“Wen Qing’s fantastic at it - her needles go straight through!”

“No _kagune_ near our son’s head.” Lan Wangji reprimanded, and Lan Sizhui snickered as his Dad pulled a face.

“Really, Dad, It’s fine. I don’t feel like it.”Wei Wuxian rolled his head sideways. “He gets it entirely from your side of the family.”

Lan Wangji didn’t bother to respond to that, and Wei Wuxian turned back.

“Hey, A-Yuan~ mind searching up the plot for me?”

“There’ll be programs there.”

“They cost money.”

“I’ll buy it for you,” Lan Wangji assured him, and Wei Wuxian swooned, as if their bank accounts weren’t shared anyway.

Lan Sizhui just smiled as he pulled up WeChat. Jin Ling’s family was already there, unsurprisingly, and their group was already filled with running complaints about various ghouls who had ties to Old Jin, all coming up and telling him how cute he was.

**[Young Mistress]:**

_The best bit is how quickly they look back at Dad, like fuckers aint’ even being subtle_

**[The Worst Vegetarian]:**

_Dude, at least you can run away._

_If I step one foot out of line, Teacher Lan’s gonna slit my throat._

_I came down with just a half-windsor knot and he almost blew it._

**[Just run for Council Pres Already]:**

_Do not stress him out, Jingyi_

**[Romeo+Juliet is Overrated™]:**

_Hey guys, do you think they’ll get mad if I bring my Switch?_

_Operas are long (((_ ╹ _д_ ╹ _;)))_

**[Young Mistress]:**

_Do it_

**[The Worst Vegetarian]:**

_Err Noooo????_

_One of your grandmas will eat part of him in anger?_

**[Young Mistress]:**

_I know._

_It would be funny._

_“_ Sizhui,” he glanced up and quickly slipped his phone in his pocket as they pulled into the valet slip. 

Wei Wuxian hummed happily as he finished the last of his eyeliner just before they braked. Lan Wangji nodded at the valet man as he glided out to hold the door open for his swooning husband.

“Dad, be careful. Uncle Jiang could try to kill you again if you do that in front of him.” Lan Sizhui warned, and his Dad winked at him.

“Oh, your Uncle Jiang cares more than he admits.”

“If my sister-in-law brought the twins, he will likely occupy himself with them,” Lan Wangji commented blandly, taking Wei Wuxian’s arm as the three headed up into the private function wing of the theatre.

“A-Xian!”

Jing Yanli greeted them first, and Wei Wuxian caught the hug happily.

“And Little Sizhui too, ah, you’ve grown since I last saw you!”

“What, two whole weeks ago?” Jin Ling popped up at his mother’s elbow, carrying one of his sisters, and his mother huffed, running a hand through his hair, before turning to hug her brother-in-law, positively dwarfed by the mighty white-suited man.

“Took you long enough.” Jiang Cheng appeared behind them, scowl already in place. Sure enough, he was holding one of the twins and impressively ignoring the toddler hands yanking on his hair. Wei Wuxian waved a hand his way.

“Oh, lay off. Yiling’s further away.”

“And the Earth will blow up before you can ever be on time for something?”

“You know me so well~” Wei Wuxian kissed his niece’s cheek, before taking his husband’s elbow, “Oh, look, Uncle’s here, let’s go say hi!”

“Is it bad that they don’t tell you not to drink?” An arm slung itself across his shoulders, “I think Teacher Lan told me about five times.”

“Maybe he was worried it wouldn’t get through your thick skull!” Jin Ling chirped, the three moving to the side as Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng greeted the Lan party, Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue in tow with Lan Xichen.

Zewu-Jun caught them looking and winked.

Lan Sizhui excused himself from the pair to go over and give his Uncle a hug.

“I heard from A-Yao about today.”

(Oh dear)

“You’re getting very good at using your _kagune_ , I hear.”

“My . . . oh, yes!” He glanced over and Meng Yao winked at him, “It’s still a bit hard to control - but I’m getting better at keeping it contained.”

“No small feat,” his Uncle assured him, voice soft and reassuring, “Not many ever mastered that _kagune_.”

“Thank you, Uncle,” he glanced back to the others, “May I excuse myself?”

“Go on,” Lan Xichen grinned, “I’ll keep the adults off your backs.”

He smiled, bowed his head, and hurried back over to where his friends had been joined by Ouyang Zizhen (who absolutely had a Switch in that bag) and had somehow moved onto the topic of his Dad’s cooking, a topic presumably arisen from the finger food in Ouyang Zizhen and Lan Jingyi’s hands.

“-his cooking is a weapon more deadly than a _kagune_ ,” Jin Ling was insisting, “How did he grow up with Mum and still turn out like that?”

“Bitch what you complaining about?” Lan Jingyi turned to him, “You’re not the one who has to eat it!”

Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui both turned to him, Jin Ling with a dead look in his eye, and one of minor trauma in Lan Sizhui’s.

“No. We do.”

“He experiments with chili seasoning. All the time.”

“I thought Father would have stopped him by now . . .”

“Hanguang-jun doesn’t stop Senior Wei from doing anything,” Ouyang Zizhen pointed out rather accurately and Lan Jingyi gave his cousin a pat on the shoulder for comfort.

“Where’s your Dad at, by the way?” he directed at Jin Ling. The ghoul rolled his eyes.

“Forming a one man wall between this room and the media – some fucking followed us here from home.”

“Yikes,” Ouyang Zizhen winced, “you think it will settle down soon?”

“Yeah, once this whole bullshit with the Qin family gets settled,” Jin Ling rolled his eyes, “adults are so useless.”

Knowing the rant that such a comment would spark, Lan Sizhui took a wise side step as the three began chit-chattig away, instead subtly pulling out his phone. He quickly poked himself into the ‘Wen-Tea’ group.

**[A-Yuan]:**

_Are you guys not coming to the Opera_?

**[Wen Qing]:**

_Are you kidding_

_I have work_

_who has time for opera_

_lazy assholes_

**[Wen Ning]:** ****

_Sorry we can’t make it A-Yuan!_ __

_And don’t mind your Aunt, she had a bad day with interns._

**[Wen Qing]:** ****

_I know where you live, A-Ning_

**[Granny]:**

_Dear A-Yuan._

_I hope you enjoy yourself dear!_

_Love Granny_

He quickly responded in kind, just before the bells went off and hands were appearing at his shoulder.

“Status green?” his Dad grinned, and he nodded.

“Remind me to get Granny a present sometime soon.”

“Very well,” Lan Wangji stepped in before Wei Wuxian could even open his mouth. His husband shrugged.

“Anyway, I think this has been enough to fill your Father’s socialising quota for the next week.”“Mm.”

“So, will you be ready for a quick skeddadle once this ends?”

“Sounds good to me,” they three of them joined the whole clouds of them heading for the private boxes, “I’m probably going to want to go to sleep pretty soon after.”

“Yes. That sounds like it’d be wonderful!” Wei Wuxian chirped, slightly too happily.

Lan Sizhui stared over at him.

“Dad, did you remember to do the dishes?”

“No.”

“Did you empty the dishwasher?”

“Nope.”

“Did you even clear up the table from lunch?”

Wei Wuxian grinned lopsidedly at him, “Young man, why are you asking questions you already know the answers too?”

Lan Sizhui just sighed and turned to his Father for help.

As they sat down, he watched Lan Wangji stare at Wei Wuxian, absolutely besotted and knew he’d get no help from that party.

He sat down with a faint sigh and resolved to at least enjoy the music before he went home to tidy up.

The opera was indeed very nice (and very long), and Lan Sizhui could only chuckle as he spotted Ouyang Zizhen and Jin Ling painstakingly arranging their suit jackets to hide the Mariokart light.

There was a particularly terrifying moment when Mistress Jin glanced back to check on her grandchildren and the Switch had to be dropped alongside a sound-drowning high note from the singer on stage, right before her _kakugan_ could spy it, but it escaped, luckily without a scratch.

Most of the grandparent’s generation, however, were fully enjoying the opera, gossiping in each other’s ears when they thought the music was loud enough to cover it, and it wasn’t hard to guess which group had decided on this ‘family outing’.

Lan Sizhui would probably find it more engaging if he didn’t have to fiddle with his ear buds every five minutes, provided to all the ghouls inn attendance to keep the speakers from blasting out their ear drums, though he did smiled when one of Jin Ling’s younger sisters bared her teeth at him, clearly deciding whether or not to try and bite through Jiang Cheng’s expensive jacket.

Uncle Lan and his two partners were together, one, or both, nudging Nie Mingjue whenever the hand resting on his fist began to drop slightly.

Jiang Yanli straightened her husband’s shirt and murmured something in his ear that had him going bright red.

And in the far back of the booth, completely ignoring the singing, his Dad was pressed up next to his Father, trailing kisses along his neck and collarbone.

And whilst the looks on his father’s face were typically considered impossible to read, Lan Sizhui knew that the opera was currently the furthest thing from his Father’s mind.

(The ’Twister in Bed’ myth had been shattered along with his innocence when he was fourteen and he still hadn’t quite recovered from the knowledge that yeah, parents have sex)

“Hey,” Lan Jingyi mumbled in his ear, “wanna make a bet?”

“Gambling is forbidden,” he mumbled back, and his cousin pulled a face.

“Yeah, sure. Anyway, who’s gonna break first? Hanguang-Jun or Teacher Lan?”

“Focus on the music, Jingyi,” he responded primly.

(And internally, he smiled when his Father did break first, turning and properly pulling his Dad into his arms to kiss him deeply.)

Lan Wangji ended up carrying Wei Wuxian back from the car to their home, supporting the One-Eyed Ghoul in his arms.

Wei Wuxian himself was mumbling sweet nothings into his husband’s ear and Lan Sizhui resisted the urge to take photos of the oh so terrifying Hanguang-jun visibly preening.

He opened the door for them and made for the kitchen, his Dad’s laziness evident in the sink.

“Lan Zhan . . . make-up . . . off . . “

“We’re going to the bathroom now, Wei Ying.”

His Father shot him a glance, and he held up a thumbs up, turning on the tap.

Later, as he was just finishing washing up the dishes, Lan Sizhui watched his Father return, husband-less, his shoulder length hair pulled back in a small ponytail.

“Father, did you get new earrings?”

Lan Wangji paused, before nodding simply and Lan Sizhui beamed, dipping his head to see the gold sun and moon pinned against his ear lobes.

“They’re lovely.”

“Aren’t they, though?” Wei Wuxian appeared at his husband’s shoulder, tucking back a lock of hair to inspect them. “I took him to one of my favourite shops - I’ve been meaning to take him there for _years_.”

“Mm,” Lan Wangji dipped his head back to press a kiss against Wei Wuxian’s nose, “Wei Ying has good taste.”

“Of course I do. I married you after all~”

“Yes, out of the two of you, it’s Father who has bad taste,” Lan Sizhui inputted sweetly, and his Dad spluttered.

He walked past them both, heading for the TV.

“I’m going to watch a movie until I go to sleep. Are you two going to join me?”

“Umm, yes? What sort of question? I feel like-!”

“Sizhui picks.”

“Yes, yes, yes, of course.” His parents curled up together on the long couch as Lan Sizhui flicked through options for a romcom Lan Jingyi had recommended to him. He turned and inspected the solid block that was his parents.

“Can I fit?”

“Hm, I reckon so. You’re not _that_ big.” Wei Wuxian scooted over, grinning, and holding open his arms. Beside him, Lan Wangji did likewise, an open invitation for him to snuggle in between them as the movie began playing.

So. He did.

(Their arms wrapped around him and all three snuggled in close, Lan Wangji absently reaching back to turn off the huge standing light beside the couch, whilst one of Wei Wuxian’s _rinkaku_ tendrils reached all the back for the overhead light switch)

There was nothing stopping them, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE (TRUE) END  
> IF you thought there was something SERIOUS and PLOT relevant to be read in this epilogue than HAHA, it's just 6K words of Wangxian out here living their best life.
> 
> So here we are - three months and too many words later, we have finally arrived at the end of the tunnel.  
> I would like to give HUGE THANK YOUS to everyone who has read, loved and supported this fic! The amount of love y'all have shown has been so amazing and motivating for me!  
> And hey! I got this finished right before uni starts again so HIP-FUCKING-HOORAY!!
> 
> One of my absolute Favourite fan cannons is that, if JYL and JZX had lived, Jin Ling would have so many siblings. Like, give the boy adorable little sisters who love him. God, it's so wholesome (clenches fist)
> 
> and  
> in what is perhaps a Reverse Uno Card Move  
> the TITLE was original  
> but you can sure as hell bet that all the CHAPTER titles are just the altered english lyrics of Unravel (Tokyo Ghoul's first opening)
> 
> Thank you all!!  
> Chatonnerie

**Author's Note:**

> Ghouls: https://tokyoghoul.fandom.com/wiki/Ghoul  
> Kagune: https://tokyoghoul.fandom.com/wiki/Kagune
> 
> Thank you to all readers!!
> 
> I am always at least lurking on @chatonnerie.tumblr.com if you want to check that out

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [our reflections as seen (when the water stills) [PODFIC]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26375017) by [Opalsong](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opalsong/pseuds/Opalsong)




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